The following is an excerpt of the speech I gave at my graduation from Yo San University about the need to stay on your path and finding your purpose in life. Enjoy.

Live according to what is important to you. Follow your heart and don’t let anything stray you off your path. Use this medicine and integrate its teachings into your life.

It wasn’t until my divorce that I truly understood what any of that meant. During my first year at Yo San I got married to my then partner of 9 years. We had gone to college together, traveled the world, worked for social justice, and followed our hearts and dreams. When our marriage fell apart 2 years later, I went into a deep depression. It was the darkest and most challenging period of my life, as I struggled with feelings of anger, sadness, and grief. The life I thought I had disintegrated and I was left wondering what my life was really about.

Hindsight is 20/20. Looking back with clarity now, what ended my marriage was that I grew complacent with my life. I was going through the motions, keeping myself busy, and taking on things that “made sense.” But I had lost sense of my direction and meaning in life. I became comfortable with living the life other people wanted. But to be detached from my heart was painful, spiritually and emotionally. Everything felt like a failure or a fraud. I numbed the pain by becoming more and more distant from everything: my relationship with my wife, work, school and friendships.

The experience I went through was like getting needled in kidney 1 with e-stim hooked up to a car battery. Translation: a jarring kick in the ass. It was an experience that I don’t wish upon anybody. But sometimes life’s most precious gifts, the gifts of wisdom and transformation, come in the form of great challenges.

Don’t shy away from your challenges. It is an access to personal growth and development. It allows you to better understand who you are as a person. It also provides you a way to practice staying on your path regardless of what life throws your way.

Life is truly precious. You only have this moment… and this moment… and this moment. You never know when you will run out of moments. All of you have a great gift to share that will enlighten the world and make it a better place. You are short changing yourself and others unless you keep living your life. So keep following your heart and stay on this path you have nurtured during your time at Yo San. Be connected with your purpose, live with an open heart and don’t settle for anything less than striving to express the entirety who you are in every… single… moment.