I stand before you not as an expert but asa concerned citizen – one of the 400,000 people who marched in the streets of New Yorkon Sunday and the billions of others around the world who want to solve our climate crisis. As an actor, I pretend for a living. I play fictitious characters, often solvingfictitious problems. I believe that mankind has looked at climatechange in that same way, as if it were fiction, as if pretending the climate change wasn’treal would somehow make it go away. But I think we all know better than that now. Every week we’re seeing new and undeniableclimate events, evidence that accelerated climate change is here right now. Droughts are intensifying. Our oceans are acidifying with methane plumesrising up from the ocean floor.
We are seeing extreme weather events and theWest Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets melting at unprecedented rates, decades ahead of scientificprojections. None of this is rhetoric and none of it ishysteria. It is fact. The scientific community knows it. Industry knows it. Governments know it. Even the United States military knows it. The Chief of the US Navy’s Pacific CommandAdmiral Samuel Locklear recently said that climate change is our single greatest securitythreat. My friends, this body, perhaps more than anyother gathering in human history now faces this difficult but achievable task. You can make history or you will be vilifiedby it. To be clear this is not about just tellingpeople to change their light bulbs or to buy a hybrid car. This disaster has grown beyond the choicesthat individuals make. This is now about our industries and our governmentsaround the world taking decisive large-scale action. Now must be our moment for action. We need to put a price tag on carbon emissionsand eliminate government subsidies for all oil coal and gas companies. We need to end the free ride that industrialpolluters have been given in the name of a free market economy. They do not deserve our tax dollars. They deserve our scrutiny for the economyitself will die if our ecosystems collapse. The good news is that renewable energy isnot only achievable but good economic policy. This is not a partisan debate. It is a human one. Clean air and a livable climate are inalienablehuman rights. And solving this crisis is not a questionof politics. It is a question of our own survival. This is the most urgent of times and the mosturgent of messages. Honored delegates, leaders of the world, Ipretend for a living but you do not. The people made their voices heard on Sundayaround the world and the momentum will not stop. But now it is your turn. The time to answer humankind’s greatestchallenge is now. We beg of you to face it with courage andhonesty. Thank you.
Thank you Bevan, thank you all! I brought one of my paintings to show youtoday. Hope you guys are gonna be able see it okay. It’s not one of my bigger pieces. You might wanna move down front — to geta good look at it. (kidding) Faculty, Parents, Friends, Dignitaries… Graduating Class of 2014, and all the deadbaseball players coming out of the corn to be with us today. (laughter) After the harvest there’s noplace to hide — the fields are empty — there is no cover there! (laughter) I am here to plant a seed that will inspireyou to move forward in life with enthusiastic hearts and a clear sense of wholeness.
The question is, will that seed have a chanceto take root, or will I be sued by Monsanto and forced to use their seed, which may notbe totally “Ayurvedic.” (laughter) Excuse me if I seem a little low energy tonight— today — whatever this is. I slept with my head to the North last night. (laughter) Oh man! Oh man! You know how that is, right kids? Woke up right in the middle of Pitta and couldn’tget back to sleep till Vata rolled around, but I didn’t freak out. I used that time to eat a large meal and connectwith someone special on Tinder. (laughter) Life doesn’t happen to you, it happens foryou. How do I know this? I don’t, but I’m making sound, and that’sthe important thing. That’s what I’m here to do. Sometimes, I think that’s one of the onlythings that are important. Just letting each other know we’re here,reminding each other that we are part of a larger self. I used to think Jim Carrey is all that I was… Just a flickering light A dancing shadow The great nothing masquerading as somethingyou can name Dwelling in forts and castles made of witches– wishes! Sorry, a Freudian slip there Seeking shelter in caves and foxholes, dugout hastily An archer searching for his target in themirror Wounded only by my own arrows Begging to be enslaved Pleading for my chains Blinded by longing and tripping over paradise– can I get an “Amen”?! (applause) You didn’t think I could be serious didya’? I don’t think you understand who you’redealing with! I have no limits! I cannot be contained because I’m the container. You can’t contain the container, man! You can’t contain the container! (laughter) I used to believe that who I was ended atthe edge of my skin, that I had been given this little vehicle called a body from whichto experience creation, and though I couldn’t have asked for a sportier model, (laughter)it was after all a loaner and would have to be returned. Then, I learned that everything outside thevehicle was a part of me, too, and now I drive a convertible. Top down wind in my hair! (laughter) I am elated and truly, truly, truly excitedto be present and fully connected to you at this important moment in your journey. I hope you’re ready to open the roof andtake it all in?! (audience doesn’t react) Okay, four moreyears then! (laughter) I want to thank the Trustees, Administratorsand Faculty of MUM for creating an institution worthy of Maharishi’s ideals of education. A place that teaches the knowledge and experiencenecessary to be productive in life, as well as enabling the students, through TranscendentalMeditation and ancient Vedic knowledge to slack off twice a day for an hour and a half!!(laughter) — don’t think you’re fooling me!!! — (applause) but, I guess it has some benefits. It does allow you to separate who you trulyare and what’s real, from the stories that run through your head. You have given them the ability to walk behindthe mind’s elaborate set decoration, and to see that there is a huge difference betweena dog that is going to eat you in your mind and an actual dog that’s going to eat you. (laughter) That may sound like no big deal,but many never learn that distinction and spend a great deal of their lives living infight or flight response. I’d like to acknowledge all you wonderfulparents — way to go for the fantastic job you’ve done — for your tireless dedication,your love, your support, and most of all, for the attention you’ve paid to your children. I have a saying, “Beware the unloved,”because they will eventually hurt themselves… or me! (laughter) But when I look at this group here today,I feel really safe! I do! I’m just going to say it — my room isnot locked! My room is not locked! (laughter) No doubtsome of you will turn out to be crooks! But white-collar stuff — Wall St. ya’know, that type of thing — crimes committed by people with self-esteem! Stuff a parent can still be proud of in aweird way. (laughter) And to the graduating class of 2017 — minus3! You didn’t let me finish! (laughter) — Congratulations!(applause) Yes, give yourselves a round of applause, please. You are the vanguard of knowledge and consciousness;a new wave in a vast ocean of possibilities. On the other side of that door, there is aworld starving for new leadership, new ideas. I’ve been out there for 30 years! She’s a wild cat! (laughter) Oh, she’llrub up against your leg and purr until you pick her up and start pettin’ her, and outof nowhere she’ll swat you in the face. Sure it’s rough sometimes but that’s OK,‘cause they’ve got soft serve ice cream with sprinkles! (laughter) I guess that’swhat I’m really here to say; sometimes it’s okay to eat your feelings! (laughter) Fear is going to be a player in your life,but you get to decide how much. You can spend your whole life imagining ghosts,worrying about your pathway to the future, but all there will ever be is what’s happeninghere, and the decisions we make in this moment, which are based in either love or fear. So many of us choose our path out of feardisguised as practicality. What we really want seems impossibly out ofreach and ridiculous to expect, so we never dare to ask the universe for it. I’m saying, I’m the proof that you canask the universe for it — please! (applause) And if it doesn’t happen for you right away,it’s only because the universe is so busy fulfilling my order. It’s party size! (laughter) My father could have been a great comedian,but he didn’t believe that was possible for him, and so he made a conservative choice. Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant,and when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job and our family had to dowhatever we could to survive. I learned many great lessons from my father,not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might aswell take a chance on doing what you love. (applause) That’s not the only thing he taught me though:I watched the affect my father’s love and humor had on the world around me, and I thought,“That’s something to do, that’s something worth my time.” It wasn’t long before I started acting up. People would come over to my house and theywould be greeted by a 7 yr old throwing himself down a large flight of stairs. (laughter) They would say, “What happened?” And I would say, “I don’t know — let’scheck the replay.” And I would go back to the top of the stairsand come back down in slow motion. (Jim reenacts coming down the stairs in slow-mo)It was a very strange household. (laughter) My father used to brag that I wasn’t a ham— I was the whole pig. And he treated my talent as if it was hissecond chance. When I was about 28, after a decade as a professionalcomedian, I realized one night in LA that the purpose of my life had always been tofree people from concern, like my dad. When I realized this, I dubbed my new devotion,“The Church of Freedom From Concern” — “The Church of FFC”— and I dedicated myselfto that ministry. What’s yours? How will you serve the world? What do they need that your talent can provide? That’s all you have to figure out. As someone who has done what you are aboutto go do, I can tell you from experience, the effect you have on others is the mostvaluable currency there is. (applause) Everything you gain in life will rot and fallapart, and all that will be left of you is what was in your heart. My choosing to free people from concern gotme to the top of a mountain. Look where I am — look what I get to do! Everywhere I go – and I’m going to getemotional because when I tap into this, it really is extraordinary to me — I did somethingthat makes people present their best selves to me wherever I go. (applause) I am at the top of the mountainand the only one I hadn’t freed was myself and that’s when my search for identity deepened. I wondered who I’d be without my fame. Who would I be if I said things that peopledidn’t want to hear, or if I defied their expectations of me? What if I showed up to the party without myMardi Gras mask and I refused to flash my breasts for a handful of beads? (laughter) I’ll give you a moment to wipethat image out of your mind. (laughter) But you guys are way ahead of the game. You already know who you are and that peace,that peace that we’re after, lies somewhere beyond personality, beyond the perceptionof others, beyond invention and disguise, even beyond effort itself. You can join the game, fight the wars, playwith form all you want, but to find real peace, you have to let the armor fall. Your need for acceptance can make you invisiblein this world. Don’t let anything stand in the way of thelight that shines through this form. Risk being seen in all of your glory. (A sheet drops and reveals Jim’s painting. Applause.) (Re: the painting) It’s not big enough!(kidding) This painting is big for a reason. This painting is called “High Visibility.” (laughter) It’s about picking up the lightand daring to be seen. Here’s the tricky part. Everyone is attracted to the light. The party host up in the corner (refers topainting) who thinks unconsciousness is bliss and is always offering a drink from the bottlesthat empty you; Misery, below her, who despises the light — can’t stand when you’redoing well — and wishes you nothing but the worst; The Queen of Diamonds who needsa King to build her house of cards; And the Hollow One, who clings to your leg and begs,“Please don’t leave me behind for I have abandoned myself.” Even those who are closest to you and mostin love with you; the people you love most in the world can find clarity confrontingat times. This painting took me thousands of hours tocomplete and — (applause) thank you — yes, thousands of hours that I’ll never get back,I’ll never get them back (kidding) — I worked on this for so long, for weeks andweeks, like a mad man alone on a scaffolding — and when I was finished one of my friendssaid, “This would be a cool black light painting.” (laughter) So I started over. (All the lights go off in the Dome and thepainting is showered with black light.) Whooooo! Welcome to Burning Man! (applause) Some prettycrazy characters right? Better up there than in here. (points to head) Painting is one of the waysI free myself from concern, a way to stop the world through total mental, spiritualand physical involvement. But even with that, comes a feeling of divinedissatisfaction. Because ultimately, we’re not the avatarswe create. We’re not the pictures on the film stock. We are the light that shines through it. All else is just smoke and mirrors. Distracting, but not truly compelling. I’ve often said that I wished people couldrealize all their dreams of wealth and fame so they could see that it’s not where you’llfind your sense of completion. Like many of you, I was concerned about goingout in the world and doing something bigger than myself, until someone smarter than myselfmade me realize that there is nothing bigger than myself! (laughter) My soul is not contained within the limitsof my body. My body is contained within the limitlessnessof my soul — one unified field of nothing dancing for no particularreason, except maybe to comfort and entertain itself. (applause) As that shift happens in you, youwon’t be feeling the world you’ll be felt by it — you will be embraced by it. Now, I’m always at the beginning. I have a reset button called presence andI ride that button constantly. Once that button is functional in your life,there’s no story the mind could create that will be as compelling. The imagination is always manufacturing scenarios— both good and bad — and the ego tries to keep you trapped in the multiplex of themind. Our eyes are not only viewers, but also projectorsthat are running a second story over the picture we see in front of us all the time. Fear is writing that script and the workingtitle is, ‘I’ll never be enough.’ You look at a person like me and say, (kidding)“How could we ever hope to reach those kinds of heights, Jim? How can I make a painting that’s too bigfor any reasonable home? How do you fly so high without a special breathingapparatus?” (laughter) This is the voice of your ego. If you listen to it, there will always besomeone who seems to be doing better than you. No matter what you gain, ego will not letyou rest. It will tell you that you cannot stop untilyou’ve left an indelible mark on the earth, until you’ve achieved immortality. How tricky is the ego that it would temptus with the promise of something we already possess. So I just want you to relax—that’s myjob—relax and dream up a good life! (applause) I had a substitute teacher from Ireland inthe second grade that told my class during Morning Prayer that when she wants something,anything at all, she prays for it, and promises something in return and she always gets it. I’m sitting at the back of the classroom,thinking that my family can’t afford a bike, so I went home and I prayed for one, and promisedI would recite the rosary every night in exchange. Broke it—broke that promise. (laughter) Two weeks later, I got home from school tofind a brand new mustang bike with a banana seat and easy rider handlebars — from foolto cool! My family informed me that I had won the bikein a raffle that a friend of mine had entered my name in, without my knowledge. That type of thing has been happening eversince, and as far as I can tell, it’s just about letting the universe know what you wantand working toward it while letting go of how it might come to pass. (applause) Your job is not to figure out how it’s goingto happen for you, but to open the door in your head and when the doors open in reallife, just walk through it. Don’t worry if you miss your cue. There will always be another door opening. They keep opening. And when I say, “life doesn’t happen toyou, it happens for you.” I really don’t know if that’s true. I’m just making a conscious choice to perceivechallenges as something beneficial so that I can deal with them in the most productiveway. You’ll come up with your own style, that’spart of the fun! Oh, and why not take a chance on faith aswell? Take a chance on faith — not religion, butfaith. Not hope, but faith. I don’t believe in hope. Hope is a beggar. Hope walks through the fire. Faith leaps over it. You are ready and able to do beautiful thingsin this world and after you walk through those doors today, you will only ever have two choices:love or fear. Choose love, and don’t ever let fear turnyou against your playful heart. Thank you. Jai Guru Dev. I’m so honored. Thank you.
I am reaching out to you because I need yourhelp. We want to end gender inequality—and todo that we need everyone to be involved. This is the first campaign of its kind atthe UN: we want to try and galvanize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates forgender equality. And we don’t just want to talk about it,but make sure it is tangible. I was appointed six months ago and the moreI have spoken about feminism the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rightshas too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain,it is that this has to stop. For the record, feminism by definition is:“The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economicand social equality of the sexes.” I started questioning gender-based assumptionswhen at eight I was confused at being called “bossy,” because I wanted to direct theplays we would put on for our parents—but the boys were not. When at 14 I started being sexualized by certainelements of the press.
When at 15 my girlfriends started droppingout of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear “muscly.” When at 18 my male friends were unable toexpress their feelings. I decided I was a feminist and this seemeduncomplicated to me. But my recent research has shown me that feminismhas become an unpopular word. Apparently I am among the ranks of women whoseexpressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive. Why is the word such an uncomfortable one? I am from Britain and think it is right thatas a woman I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be ableto make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decision-makingof my country. I think it is right that socially I am affordedthe same respect as men. But sadly I can say that there is no one countryin the world where all women can expect to receive these rights. No country in the world can yet say they haveachieved gender equality. These rights I consider to be human rightsbut I am one of the lucky ones. My life is a sheer privilege because my parentsdidn’t love me less because I was born a daughter. My school did not limit me because I was agirl. My mentors didn’t assume I would go lessfar because I might give birth to a child one day. These influencers were the gender equalityambassadors that made me who I am today. They may not know it, but they are the inadvertentfeminists who are changing the world today. And we need more of those. And if you still hate the word—it is notthe word that is important but the idea and the ambition behind it. Because not all women have been afforded thesame rights that I have. In fact, statistically, very few have been. In 1995, Hilary Clinton made a famous speechin Beijing about women’s rights. Sadly many of the things she wanted to changeare still a reality today. But what stood out for me the most was thatonly 30 per cent of her audience were male. How can we affect change in the world whenonly half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation? Men—I would like to take this opportunityto extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue too. Because to date, I’ve seen my father’srole as a parent being valued less by society despite my needing his presence as a childas much as my mother’s. I’ve seen young men suffering from mentalillness unable to ask for help for fear it would make them look less “macho”—infact in the UK suicide is the biggest killer of men between 20-49 years of age; eclipsingroad accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease. I’ve seen men made fragile and insecureby a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equalityeither. We don’t often talk about men being imprisonedby gender stereotypes but I can see that that they are and that when they are free, thingswill change for women as a natural consequence. If men don’t have to be aggressive in orderto be accepted women won’t feel compelled to be submissive. If men don’t have to control, women won’thave to be controlled. Both men and women should feel free to besensitive. Both men and women should feel free to bestrong… It is time that we all perceive gender ona spectrum not as two opposing sets of ideals. If we stop defining each other by what weare not and start defining ourselves by what we are—we can all be freer and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom. I want men to take up this mantle. So their daughters, sisters and mothers canbe free from prejudice but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable andhuman too—reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned and in doing so be a more trueand complete version of themselves. You might be thinking who is this Harry Pottergirl? And what is she doing up on stage at the UN. It’s a good question and trust me, I havebeen asking myself the same thing. I don’t know if I am qualified to be here. All I know is that I care about this problem. And I want to make it better. And having seen what I’ve seen—and giventhe chance—I feel it is my duty to say something. English Statesman Edmund Burke said: “Allthat is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for enough good men and women to do nothing.” In my nervousness for this speech and in mymoments of doubt I’ve told myself firmly—if not me, who, if not now, when. If you have similar doubts when opportunitiesare presented to you I hope those words might be helpful. Because the reality is that if we do nothingit will take 75 years, or for me to be nearly a hundred before women can expect to be paidthe same as men for the same work. 15.5 million girls will be married in thenext 16 years as children. And at current rates it won’t be until 2086before all rural African girls will be able to receive a secondary education. If you believe in equality, you might be oneof those inadvertent feminists I spoke of earlier. And for this I applaud you. We are struggling for a uniting word but thegood news is we have a uniting movement. It is called HeForShe. I am inviting you to step forward, to be seento speak up, to be the "he" for "she". And to ask yourself if not me, who? If not now, when? Thank you.
Hello, Chicago. If there is anyone out there who still doubtsthat America is a place where all things are possible, who stillwonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the powerof our democracy, tonight is your answer. It's the answer told by lines that stretchedaround schools and churches in numbers this nation has neverseen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in theirlives, because they believed that this time must be different,that their voices could be that difference. It's the answer spoken by young and old, richand poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic,Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled.
