00:00world better. We will rely on you, your values, passion, perseverance, and strength of character
00:08to make our world better. While at Stanford, you've gained the tools and analytical skills
00:15to help you understand the world, analyze its shortcomings, and work on solutions that
00:21will make things better. The university has strived to give you the skills to listen to
00:27and learn from one another. I urge you to continue to be open to other points of view.
00:34Don't let your convictions shut out your ability to listen and learn. I want to urge you to
00:41embrace your futures with gratitude and with optimism while acknowledging the suffering
00:49of others. You should feel gratitude to your family and to the Stanford community for an
00:55outstanding education that has equipped you for lives of exploration and learning. Genuine
01:03feelings of expressions of gratitude result in social cohesion and a stronger civil society.
01:10These social bonds are very much needed in the current context of division and polarization.
01:18Gratitude helps combat the hyper-individualism that assumes that a person's successes result
01:25solely of their own efforts. Of course, you've devoted a lot of intense effort and talent
01:31to your own successes so far in life, but those efforts have been in the context of
01:36what others have built and could not have been accomplished without the help and support
01:41of other individuals. Gratitude encourages reciprocity with all the social benefits that
01:48it brings. Grateful people enjoy better...
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