Delivering the commencement speech at the Maharishi University of Management, Jim Carrey keeps people laughing while he sells some profound wisdom. “Fear,” he tells the students all relaxed and attentive, “is going to be one of the key players in your life. You get to decide how much. All that will ever be is what is happening here, based on the decisions made here based on either love or fear. So many of us choose our paths out of fear disguised as practicality. What we really want seems out of reach, ridiculous to expect, so we have never dared to ask the Universe for it. I am saying that I am the proof that you can ask the Universe for it. And if it does not happen for you right away, the Universe is so busy filling my order….”
Amidst laughter Carrey continues, “My father could have been a great comedian but he did not believe that would be possible so he made a conservative choice instead and got a “safe” job as an accountant. When I was 12 years old he was let go from that safe job and our family had to do whatever we could to survive. I learnt many great lessons from my father, not in the least of which was that you can fail in what you do not want. So you might as well take a chance at doing what you love.”
Carrey goes on to talk of how his father’s love and humour altered the world around him. So he thought, “That is something to do, that is something worth my time.” There was a time when people would come home to find a seven-year-old throw himself down the stairs and they would ask, “What happened?” The comedian put a lot of concern in his voice as the anxious visitors would run up to the boy fallen flat. Carrey would reply, “I don’t know, let’s check the replay. I would go back to the top of the stairs and come back in slow motion…”
Carrey’s father was proud of his son’s talent. “He treated it like his second chance. When I was 28, almost a decade after I had been a professional comedian, I realised the purpose of my life had always been to free people from concern, just like my dad. When I realised this I dubbed my new devotion the Church of Freedom From Concern. And I dedicated myself to that Ministry. What is yours? How will you serve the world? What is it that they need that your talent can provide? That is all you have to figure out. The effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is, because everything that you gain and rock will fall apart and all that will be left of you is what was in your heart…”
Carrey poses questions like what would he be without his fame, what if he said things people did not want to hear…“To find real peace, you have to let the armour go. Your need for acceptance can make you invisible in this world. Risk being seen…” and he unveils a painting…much evil and reality lies exposed in that colourful painting which Carrey says took him thousands of hours. “…which I will never get back. Painting is one of the ways in which I free myself from concern…but even with that there comes some dissatisfaction… you will look at me and say how will we ever reach that...how do you fly so high…there will always be someone doing better than you…how tricky is ego that it tempts us with something we already possess? Let the universe know what you want and letting go of how it comes to pass….doors keep opening…perceive challenges as something beneficial…take a chance on faith, not religion or hope, faith.”
