The most important thing to tell the graduating class of 2013? “You are all going to die.” At least that’s what Joss Whedon, the man behind such beloved cultural touchstones as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Avengers, told Wesleyan graduates in his commencement speech over the weekend. After that macabre opening, Whedon’s address to his alma mater was unsurprisingly thoughtful, honest, and more than a bit inspiring.
Speaking of the “contradiction” between the body and the mind, the filmmaker said:
It never goes away. And if you think that achieving something, if you think that solving something, if you think a career or a relationship will quiet that voice, it will not. If you think that happiness means total peace, you will never be happy. Peace comes from the acceptance of the part of you that can never be at peace. It will always be in conflict. If you accept that, everything gets a lot better.
The full transcript is available on the Wesleyan website.
Previously:
Watch Stephen Colbert’s Speech to New Graduates
