Reality leaves a lot to the imagination

 I finally got around to reading J. K. Rowling's commencement speech to Harvard last May, something I had meant to do for sometime.  It was very good, and I strongly recommend it.  Parts of it however, were also quite surprising.  Jo made her theme, while addressing graduates from one of the most prestigious universities in one of the most privileged countries in the world, failure and imagination.  

How one handles oneself when met with disappointment and the ability to imagine a better future--these are things that are independent of ones education.    It is not the responsibility of the rich, wealthy or brilliant to make the world a better place.  We cannot sit idly by and wait for those more powerful than us to fix things.  The real ability to better ones life and the world lies with everyone and not just those blessed with higher education or a privileged position in society, but is the power and responsibility of all.  

Here is part of Jo's conclusion :

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you  have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

The full text can be found here.