The Empty Stage

I was asked to speak at our National Honors Society induction this evening:
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Good evening and welcome—to all of you—to all of the family, friends, and faculty who are here supporting and celebrating the induction of approximately 180 exceptional human beings into the National Honors Society.

I have spent a lot of time on this stage and others. I’ve performed, I’ve directed, and I’ve received honors like this one. All of that is wonderful, but I have to tell you: Every time I step foot onto an empty stage, I get chills. I walk across the floor, my footsteps echoing as I move into the space, visualizing the past, present, and future. I close my eyes and see singers, actors, dancers, and musicians. I see stage hands and techies. I see show stoppers. I see music and drama reverberating to the back of the theater. I see the shifting faces of audiences applauding through the years. I see it all. I stand at center stage, lights asleep, the sound of a generator humming gently, and I know that there is so much more to come. I breathe in possibility here, on an empty stage.

Today, I am deeply honored to be sharing this stage with such beautiful people. I mean that. And I’m not talking, the stylin’ new haircut you got this weekend, or that bright summer dress you’re wearing tonight, or the hot new kicks you’re rockin’. No. I’m talking about something else entirely, something far more important. When I look out at all of your smiling faces—go on, smile! There it is—you glow. Don’t they? You are glowing with everything you are, everything that brought you here to this moment, but more importantly, you are glowing with a beautiful spirit that is far wiser and far stronger than your young life might indicate to any of us.

When I look out at all of you, I can actually see the spirit of spring. And more than anyone else, we New Englanders appreciate the springtime. Spring is a season of new beginnings, growth, and waking up. It is a time when we stretch-out stiff muscles, open our doors, and burst out into blooming gardens, remembering and rejoicing all that is good and hopeful in the world. Spring is the light at the end of the tunnel, the time we all wait for when the dark, freezing-cold winters seem endless and unbearable. Spring is a time for awards and graduations, for ceremonies and celebrations, for recognizing accomplishments.

And here we are, on this stage, full of smiling faces now, recognizing you for being the whole package. Today, we celebrate your strong character, your leadership, your scholarship, and your willingness to serve. This is more than just making the honor roll on your report card. Today, you are making the honor roll for being a good person.

While we’re here in the springtime, in this moment of happiness, on this full and glowing stage, I would like to offer a challenge. I challenge each and every one of you to honor the empty stage, to honor and recognize endless possibilities. I challenge you also to honor the process—the beginnings, the middles, the endings and then the resulting new beginnings that follow. I challenge you to embrace the middle of the winter when everything is encrusted with dirty snow and it seems like the blue skies will never come back. I challenge you to honor all of the seasons, all steps in a process, no matter how difficult. I challenge you to do all of this and STILL be the beautiful, glowing, giving person sitting here today.

The true test is to embody all elements of your being when an award or recognition is not in sight. The true test will be if you can maintain the essence of the NHS throughout your life, long after you’ve forgotten what the four pillars actually stand for.

Congratulations! It’s on you now. It is your responsibility to share yourself and your beautiful spirit with the rest of the world. And I, for one, am so excited to see all the good you will do.