Leaving the Beaten Path

It’s the time of year when thousands of young people are celebrating their graduation from high school or college. Commencement addresses will be filled with platitudes about new beginnings, challenges ahead, and memories from the past years of education. Most of these speeches will be forgotten by the time the ceremony is over. In many cases this is likely a good thing.

Since I’m pretty sure I will never be invited to speak at a graduation ceremony I thought it would be fun to consider what advice I might offer to this year’s Class of 2012. After careful consideration here is the one piece of wisdom that today’s graduates should try hard not to forget. It is from a quote by Alexander Graham Bell, inventor, scientist, engineer, professor, and teacher of the deaf.

“Don’t keep forever on the public road. Leave the beaten path occasionally and dive into the woods. You will be certain to find something that you have never seen before. One discovery will lead to another, and before you know it you will have something worth thinking about to occupy your mind. All really big discoveries are the results of thoughts.”

Many of today’s graduates have already decided to keep on the public road. They are mesmerized by the lure of wealth, power, and fame even in the face of evidence that proves these aspirations to be quite empty. The cultural pressure to succeed and fit in are powerfully addictive. Many of us are also taught to believe that competition and winning matter more than living with a moral code of ethics.

That is why Graham Bell’s advice to “leave the beaten path” is so compelling. It suggests that when we depart from the prescribed future being sought by the masses we will make some really big discoveries about ourselves and others. The beaten path ventures into the woods where the only distractions aside from the wind, birds, and animals, will be our thoughts. When we succumb to our mind’s eye we may find new ways of addressing the world’s most pressing problems, uncover hidden passions and interests we have buried from childhood, and discover the courage to pursue our real dreams.

I have benefited from this approach in my own life but not without taking risks. Moving my family to southeastern Pennsylvania in the summer of 1986 was one of my moments to “leave the beaten path” and it has certainly rewarded me with new opportunities, friendships, and much more. I believe my family also reaped some rewards from this life changing moment.

To all this year’s graduates, congratulations on your accomplishments! Just don’t forget that the public road may not deliver on all it’s golden promises. Instead I encourage you to “leave the beaten path and dive into the woods.” Who knows what big discoveries you will make when you have time to really think.