Conclusion of F.G. Paci's convocation address

The following is the conclusion of Dr. F.G. Paci's address to Algoma University College's Convocation 2003.

**************************************************************** 'Writing for me is a form of prayer'

Also, I sometimes try to tell my son that I am doing something. In my own small way. I'm trying to make people more aware. To keep them more awake. More conscious. This is what I feel makes my life meaningful. It's all I can do. I don't go out there and change the political landscape. I don't engage in death-defying adventures. I write novels. Not widely read novels, okay. But that's not why I write. Oh, yeah, I like more recognition. I'd like to make more money from my writing. I'd like to make enough to write full time and not expend a lot of my energy at another job. But that's not why I principally write. I don't write for the marketplace. Writing is much more important than that for me.

Writing for me is a form of prayer. I write to preserve the stories and people and places that helped nurture me. I write to thank and to think. I write because it gives me so much joy that it becomes mere play that I feel guilty if I make any money from it.

And I write to honour those like my Mom and Dad who worked hard for me. Maybe I'll leave something after I'm long gone that my son also, will be proud of.

So I exhort you to find something to do that makes your lives meaningful. Whatever it is. I hope you find something that you can give your whole heart and soul to.

Isn't this what true success in life is?

I truly believe that you can't measure success by what you have gained at the end of the course. You can't measure success by the wealth you have amassed, the power and prestige you get, the possessions you own, and so on.

I truly believe in what the Bhagavad Gita tells us. We must perform all our actions without thought of reward. We must do something for the pure enjoyment of the act.

I truly believe that the only way to measure success is to like whatever you're doing to such an extent that you're totally enwrapped in it. That you're not thinking of the results or the approval of other people.

My Dad likes to work with his hands. To fix machines. To tend to his garden. We used to fight all the time, my Dad and me. We didn't agree about anything when I was growing up. But without even realizing it, I think, he taught the greatest lesson. The value of good honest work.

So I say to my Dad, Good job. Dad. And I say to all you grads. Good job. But never stop learning. Because it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.

Thank you.

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