In early November, I attended a title known generally as the Last Lecture. Last Lectures are based on the concept that if a professor discovered that they were dying but they had one last opportunity to talk to their students, what would they say? The best of these talks relate to the common human experience, while drawing on their own experiences to spread their wisdom. I have seen a lot of these lectures myself, and when the professor does not actually have the pressure of their own looming death, they tend to default to their own area of study, neglecting the emotional component that makes these speeches so powerful. At Dr. Laura Knouse’s Last Lecture titled “Being Human is Hard,” it appeared at first that she had fallen into this trap. A psychologist by background, she used lots of data and studies to emphasize that being a human, specifically a human in the 21st century, is different from that of non-humans because modern day technology allows us access to more information and connections than ever before; in theory, we should be able to use this unlimited access to make ourselves happy.
It was at this point that Dr. Knouse went onto her more emotional, philosophical, and profound points of her talk. She did not explain how to avoid suffering or how to find happiness specifically, but instead emphasized that we must recognize being human is hard. To do that, we must not be too hard on others and more importantly, not be too hard on ourselves. Instead of putting ourselves down, we should instead realize that because life is hard, we will make mistakes; accept that the flub was just that, a mistake, and start to move forward. She used the example in her personal life of her son. When she was pregnant, she thought that she could handle a variety of potential disabilities both physical and mental, but the one she thought she would not be able to handle was autism. Of course, nine months later, her son was born with autism. Using the philosophy of the title of her speech, she decided not be so hard on herself for hoping against what ended up making her son unique. She forgave herself for having short patience or needing to take “time off.” She also vowed never to foster resentment or blame towards her son for the way that he is. This mindset allowed her to focus nothing but love and attention to her child.
Dr. Knouse advocated for this mindset because it allows a person to become more productive and successful when they are not dwelling on past mistakes, most of which will have little-to-no effect on the future. After doing the reading “Beyond Red and Blue,” I saw a common give-each-other-some-lack-attitude when Williamson talked about working to understand one another; he also raised the point that we must forgive ourselves and each other when we make a mistake because it is all part of a learning curve towards a more accepting and inclusive society.
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