A Speech I Once Heard

Happy Halloween everyone!

Now that I've said that, on to the real focus of this post. I was reminded today of a speech that was given at my high school.

Now I went to a Christian school and so quite typically, on chapel days, a band would play worship music before some pastor or presenter came up. But this time it  different. We were all dismissed from our classes to head to the theater. As we came in, there was silence from the stage.  The red main curtain closed. No music was being played. There was no spiritual life teacher waiting to introduce the guest. No student ready to say their pastor was there to talk. When we had al been seated, a man dressed in simply a simple suit walked on stage. His appearance slightly disheveled, but not unprofessional. As he walked on we quieted waiting to hear what he had to say.

He began with a story. A story about walking in a city on one side of the street avoiding the people on the other side. Ignoring the homeless, the insane, the altogether strange. But then he asked, what would we learn if we walked on the other side. If we stopped to talk to the people. An he gave examples, always in a story, beginning with a man. A man who painted what he saw, but wasn't very good at it. But little did we know, the man saw halos of color around objects. He was really excellent, but nobody quite knew it. The man was Van Gogh.

And the speaker continued to talk Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Again in a story. He spoke with such a passion. His voice echoed through the quiet theater. No one dared to make a sound, not even a whisper during his entrancing talk. He told his own story too. And then, he said he would not give his name because it was unimportant to his point. And then, he walked off the stage.

The spiritual life director came on very quietly, though every footstep was heard, we were all so shocked by the passionate man we had heard speak moments ago. The director quietly told us we were dismissed to brunch. And that was it. There were no special effects, no slide shows, nothing. No music, no introduction. And yet. It is the speech I remember the most. To this day, I have no idea who he was.

I wish I could send a thank you note find a video to share with other people I know, but at the same time, it would not be as powerful if I knew.

If you recognize this speech at all (whether you have heard him speak before) or you are that man, comment below about it. Have a great Halloween everyone.

With Love,
PolarBearMoose <3