Living Proof

“I’m living proof that we do not need to suffer the fear that life has no meaning, that we have no value. I’ve had the feeling, but I’ve also learned the distinction between subjective feelings and objective facts. Objectively, life has meaning. Therefore, so do you. You matter. You matter very, very much to me and to those around you.

Your capacity to hear me now shows your ability to listen to us at any time we speak. Your willingness to experience art shows your eagerness to learn the experience and views of another. Your willingness to risk loving, and therefore risk being wounded again and again, is evidence of your own reach toward purpose, and meaning, and joy.

Life is a risky proposition. To live it fully we must show others the one thing we want most to hide from them: ourselves. This is both the adventure and the terror, whether you are a parent, a lover, a friend, a physician who prescribes drugs or a patient who takes them. It’s true of all of us when we engage in whatever art is ours. Showing ourselves is, always, a breathtaking experience whether in the boardroom or the studio, on the public stage or in our quietest intimacy.”

“A Risky Proposition” — A speech given by Mary Fisher

Sedona, Arizona — Friday, September 28, 2012