Stop & Smell The Roses

My Senior Speech...

I’m going to begin this speech the way every speech should begin: I’m going to read you a Calvin & Hobbes comic. Calvin and Hobbes are walking through the woods, and Calvin’s ranting to Hobbes, as he often is. He says, “You know how everyone says you should stop and smell the roses? Well, this morning I did. Big Deal! They smelled like a bunch of dumb flowers! It was the most mundane experience I’ve ever had! Who’s got time for this nonsense! I’m a busy guy! I’ve got things to do! The last thing I need is to stand around with my nose in some silly plant!” Hobbes replies, rolling his eyes, “I’m glad you somehow found the time for his edifying conversation.” Calvin then checks his watch and says, “Yeah well, I’m going to have to wrap it up. My TV show is about to start.”

Calvin has a bit of a point here, doesn’t he? After all, anyone expecting to get anything too extraordinary out of “standing around with your nose in some silly plant”, as Calvin puts it, will probably be disappointed. But really, Calvin of course missed the point by taking this expression literally. For most people however, even a non-literal reading of the phrase “Stop and Smell The Roses” won’t do much good, because this expression is one of the most feared things in the literary world-a cliché, something so repulsive and hideous that most people will run in the opposite direction the moment they realize what they’re dealing with.

There’s good reason for that. Who likes cliché? Why would anyone like something that’s repeated countless times, rendering it utterly meaningless? And yet, there’s something ever so slightly tragic about a cliché. After all, many if not most clichés at one time contained a relatively good piece of simple advice, before they were repeated over and over. Before they lost all meaning That is, before they were clichés. But now it’s too late: everyone’s so sick and tired of hearing these little fortune cookie philosophies that their ears close up the second they hear one. You have to wonder if there’s a way to disguise a cliché like this one so that won’t happen.

Ferris Bueller said, “life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” Good advice from a good man. Ferris Bueller certainly knows a thing or two about stopping to look around every once in a while. After all, he did miss nine days of school in just one semester, and life would be a terrible thing to miss. So how does one do this exactly?

You could take a page out of Ferris’s book and take a day off of school once in a while. I’m not suggesting you miss anywhere near the nine days Ferris did, but a mental health day every now and then can work wonders.

Or, you could try lounging at the bottom of a big tree with nothing but the bright sun and your thoughts. Can you remember the last time you spent some time outside, doing absolutely nothing at all? Just sit back, close your eyes, breathe in the sweet spring air, and enjoy the sun. It’s amazing to me how many problems a little sunshine really can solve. Thomas Jefferson always talked about the sun’s healing effect on him; he called it his “almighty physician.” Spend some time outside. Don’t do anything else. Just enjoy the solitude. One can accomplish quite a bit out of doing absolutely nothing at all.

You could also take a moment and think about the little quirky things in life. I know I love to think about the road not taken. History can be fascinating this way. Take the Beatles, for example. It’s hard to imagine a world without the Beatles, a world that they never touched with their music and wit. How could such a world exist? What if dream team John Lennon and Paul McCartney hadn’t become the creative duo that wrote the bulk of the Beatles songs? What if they’d never even met? On July 6, 1957, John Lennon’s band was playing at a church event, and Paul McCartney was brought along by a mutual friend, expecting to find girls there. During intermission, John caught Paul fiddling with his guitar, and the rest is history, as they say. But what if Paul hadn’t come at all on that fateful July day in 1957? What if he had to say home? What if his dad had a cough that day? What if, at the breakfast table, Jim McCartney, felt a big cough coming out but forgot to cover his mouth, accidentally coughing all over his poor son Paul, causing him to get sick and not be able to go to the church social? Imagine, one man raising his hand to cover his mouth when he coughs, and the entire world changes! Otto Von Bismarck said that “the hinges of history are held in place by tiny nails”. Jim McCartney’s cold is proof of that.

As I think more about Ferris Bueller’s advice to “stop and look around every once in a while”, I’m reminded of an assembly we had towards the beginning of the year where Ms. Franke and Ms. Sager invited us all to enjoy some cookies and punch in the Chapel gallery, so as long as we adhered to proper Gallery Etiquette and didn’t just take the cookies and run. I’m sure all of you remember Mr. Moos’ comments immediately following this: “I have a confession to make”, he said. “I’ve already sampled one of the cookies from the gallery. Oatmeal Raison.” This was an amazing moment for me. I remember walking down to assembly that day and coveting the golden brown sweets on the table to my right, but I never even dreamed of taking one, fearing the horrible consequences that would befall me if I were caught, cookie-in-hand. When Mr. Moos confessed that he had indulged and snatched up one of the cookies, I realized that although he probably shouldn’t have taken the cookie and violated Gallery Etiquette, he also did something amazing. By eating that Oatmeal Raison cookie, Mr. Moos was doing exactly what Ferris’s advice is getting at.

Now, I’m not saying that the only way to live a little is to skip school or violate Gallery Etiquette. But I know as well as anyone that Breck can be an intense place, and I also know all too well how to ease back when things get rough. Just ask anyone that’s tried to teach me Math. But I still think that it’s crucial to find a way to stop and look around every once in a while. Take a day off from school. Relax against the big tree. Think about the road not taken. Eat the Oatmeal Raison cookie. Stop and smell the roses.

Chice