From Seebs, congratulations, thanks and life advice
Published on June 14, 2012 in Opinion
by Fred Seebeck (Staff Writer)
Congratulations to you all, to your parents, your siblings, your ancestors and your posterity. We all wish you prosperous and joyful lives, good health, wonderful families of your own, and loving, loyal friends. You have already sown the seeds for all of those in your years at Loomis Chaffee and before. Cultivate those seeds with loving care and you will be richly rewarded.
After all, we all yearn for rich rewards in this life, do we not? Tangible or intangible, we hope for some acknowledgement of our toils, but such returns on our “investment,” in our time and in our culture, too often come from sources outside of ourselves - grades, paychecks, promotions, citations, prizes, publicity all loom especially large in 21st century America. May I recommend that you find ways to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of your life and not to rely too heavily on what others say or do or think about you? I was crushed when, recently, I had dinner with a couple of my college teammates and their wives — a really fun little reunion — but during the meal, both of my teammates professed that they would retire tomorrow, if possible, they were so disenchanted with their work. One is a lawyer, the other a veteran engineer for a prominent electronics firm. Their forceful conviction regarding their current employment really disarmed me.
I offered them a brief reflection on my own work, and the conversation moved on. But I mention this exchange to you for two reasons: first, though my work at Loomis Chaffee is quite tough and tiring at times, the intellectual challenges, the variety, the flow of new faces and different opportunities, and the inspiration of working with and around dedicated people NEVER fail to inspire me. I can’t imagine a lifestyle that’s better for me. Furthermore, you members of the class of ‘12, so many of whom I know so well, have brought so much passion, energy, variety and talent to the game that I have boatloads of fond memories of your years here, and I thank you for making every new day of my work with you a precious gift that I have opened eagerly over these past three to four years.
Search for joy in your own daily lives. Point yourselves toward careers that bring you more than financial remuneration. Devote yourselves to serving others, in some way, in the years ahead. Your personal lives will blossom with the good will that you shower on others if you do. That’s the kind of motivation that will sustain you through life’s tough passages. That’s the kind of reward that you can’t get from a paycheck. That’s the key to real prosperity in life.
I wonder if I will see you again after June 8. I am sure that I will attend one or two of your weddings (Lyle’s at least, I hope) and a couple of your reunions. Surely I will see a few of you at Fenway Park some evening, if the Sox ever get back in their groove. Very likely I will bump into a few of you here and there in places like Faneuil Hall, the Moma, Edgartown, Millenium Park, Santa Monica Pier or the summit of Mount Washington. Perhaps I will be fortunate enough to have one or two of you as a colleague. Whatever the case, please know that, along with all of my friends on the faculty here, I wish every one of you good fortune, long life and joy!
After all, we all yearn for rich rewards in this life, do we not? Tangible or intangible, we hope for some acknowledgement of our toils, but such returns on our “investment,” in our time and in our culture, too often come from sources outside of ourselves - grades, paychecks, promotions, citations, prizes, publicity all loom especially large in 21st century America. May I recommend that you find ways to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of your life and not to rely too heavily on what others say or do or think about you? I was crushed when, recently, I had dinner with a couple of my college teammates and their wives — a really fun little reunion — but during the meal, both of my teammates professed that they would retire tomorrow, if possible, they were so disenchanted with their work. One is a lawyer, the other a veteran engineer for a prominent electronics firm. Their forceful conviction regarding their current employment really disarmed me.
I offered them a brief reflection on my own work, and the conversation moved on. But I mention this exchange to you for two reasons: first, though my work at Loomis Chaffee is quite tough and tiring at times, the intellectual challenges, the variety, the flow of new faces and different opportunities, and the inspiration of working with and around dedicated people NEVER fail to inspire me. I can’t imagine a lifestyle that’s better for me. Furthermore, you members of the class of ‘12, so many of whom I know so well, have brought so much passion, energy, variety and talent to the game that I have boatloads of fond memories of your years here, and I thank you for making every new day of my work with you a precious gift that I have opened eagerly over these past three to four years.
Search for joy in your own daily lives. Point yourselves toward careers that bring you more than financial remuneration. Devote yourselves to serving others, in some way, in the years ahead. Your personal lives will blossom with the good will that you shower on others if you do. That’s the kind of motivation that will sustain you through life’s tough passages. That’s the kind of reward that you can’t get from a paycheck. That’s the key to real prosperity in life.
I wonder if I will see you again after June 8. I am sure that I will attend one or two of your weddings (Lyle’s at least, I hope) and a couple of your reunions. Surely I will see a few of you at Fenway Park some evening, if the Sox ever get back in their groove. Very likely I will bump into a few of you here and there in places like Faneuil Hall, the Moma, Edgartown, Millenium Park, Santa Monica Pier or the summit of Mount Washington. Perhaps I will be fortunate enough to have one or two of you as a colleague. Whatever the case, please know that, along with all of my friends on the faculty here, I wish every one of you good fortune, long life and joy!
