Acting

Mary Oliver passed away a couple of weeks ago. A poet whose writing embraced the meditative and beautiful qualities of the natural world, she captured moments of profound importance and reflection like few others. One of her obituaries closed with her wish: "I don’t want to end up simply having visited this world." While I do believe there is a place for simple visits, I find her eloquent call to action inspiring and humbling with their encouragement that we consider our place in the world and their recognition of our agency in how things turn out.

Institutions and individuals have the opportunity to honor Oliver’s words, and they should. For Poly, understanding the distinction between acting and visiting is grounded in the clarity of our purpose. An institution should never just pass through a community or behave in a way that would lead someone to believe that its roots and sense of responsibility are not wide and deep.

The Poly community embraces this view of itself with characteristic generosity and thoughtfulness. Our service learning program, which reaches across all of our divisions, ensures that our understanding of the world around us is more than an intellectual pursuit. It also reminds us that, if done for the wrong or misguided reasons, this work smacks of voyeurism and privilege. Last week, two seniors demonstrated their decision to act by hosting a provocative speaker on global warming. In a similar vein, the Partnership for Success! program — now in its 32nd year— reflects the institution’s historical commitment to act in the Pasadena community beyond our campus.

Oliver closes her poem "The Summer Day" with one of her most quoted lines: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" These words capture for me so much of what it means to be alive and a member of a community. The opportunities are endless if we give ourselves permission to embrace the thrilling uncertainty of what is ahead. Visiting is easy, but having a positive and enduring impact takes effort, and the rewards are boundless.

JWB
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