<div dir="ltr"><div><b>I have an idea for alleviating social isolation......ONLINE</b><br></div><div><b><i><br></i></b></div><div><b><i>I have attached the following in a file for ease of printing and or editing.</i></b></div><div><br></div><div><b>OK OK..so many of our members are in the "High risk group."</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>I am staying home (we're on spring break) avoiding crowds blah blah blah... MY PERSONAL PROBLEM...all I am doing is eating too much and smoking too much....</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>My son WIll and his girlfriend and Mila (almost 4 months old) are on my second floor, and Bahrom from Tajikistan is in the back bedroom. So I am hardly "ALONE," but we are keeping our distance. </b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>I have plenty of projects to finish....and books to read...and WVUP has advised faculty to be prepared to go online when we return from spring break...although they have not made an official announcement yet.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>Fuggedabout it.<br></b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>SO, social isolation can be a problem.</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>John Krasinski gave the commencement speech at Brown in 2019. it is 14 minutes long.....it's amusing/funny and at time hilarious. Don't worry if you don't know who Krasinski is.... I'm not asking you to watch it, but I have a short excerpt to bring to your attention. I have highlighted in yellow the relevant sections. I believe we can apply them to the UU community. READ I will put my idea at the end. </b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div style="border-top:none;border-right:none;border-left:none;border-bottom:1pt solid rgb(234,234,234);padding:0in 0in 15pt;margin-left:0.25in;margin-right:0in"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:rgb(68,68,68)">This is an excerpt from John Krasinki’s commencement speech at Brown University 2019</span></b><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.2pt;background:rgb(252,252,252);margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13pt"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.2pt;background:rgb(252,252,252);margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:rgb(68,68,68)">If you want to
watch or listen to the whole speech…which is quite funny, here is the link (14
minutes).</span></b><span style="font-size:13pt"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.2pt;background:rgb(252,252,252);margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="color:black"><a href="https://speakola.com/grad/john-krasinski-brown-university-lean-in-2019"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;color:blue">https://speakola.com/grad/john-krasinski-brown-university-lean-in-2019</span></b></a></span><span style="font-size:13pt"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.2pt;background:rgb(252,252,252);margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:rgb(68,68,68)"> </span></b><b style="font-size:11pt"><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black">“No, I didn't get to throw everything in acting, but I did throw
everything I had into this unparalleled pool of brilliant people. People often
ask me how I got into acting. The truth is I didn't get into acting. I got into
everything. <span style="background:yellow">Believe it or not. When I got to
Brown, I really hadn't listened to any music that wasn't on the radio, seen any
movie that wasn't in the multiplex. One day I asked a small group of friends to
each give me, one of their favorite movies, favorite albums, and they did, every
single week for four years. Yeah. Cry. Okay, I'm back. It was the experience of
my life. One of the most mind blowing, mind expanding experiences and no drugs
were necessary.</span></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black">
<br>
It was without a doubt the beginning of everything. <span style="background:yellow">For the next four years I wanted to be a part of it all. I formed a new
way of thinking, a new way of executing those thoughts. I leaped out of my
comfort zone, then stayed there and then left again. I experienced firsthand
the powerful shift in doing something out of love rather than out of necessity.
I learned what it meant to believe. I took chances, I failed, and I took more
chances. So yes, in the classroom I received one of the greatest educations one
can possibly get, true, but the piece of paper I got at graduation also represents
that education. The piece of paper I got not only says where I was educated,
but who I was educated with and it declares that I am a member of that
community of people to be relied upon, to take risks, provoke thought, and to
be committed participants in this world.</span> <br>
<br>
The piece of paper I got represented every facet of my experience and the piece
of paper I got is the exact same piece of paper you're going to get tomorrow. <span style="background:yellow">The piece of paper I got, I live my life every single
day by, because when looking at this sense of nervous that you're feeling now,
ask yourself, what's it based in? Is it based in the unknown? Because my
question to you is up until now, how else have you approached each new
tomorrow? And if your nerves are based in fear of failure, well, my question is
up until now, how have you defined success because in this community, without
the presence of financial gain, isn't success simply defined as you're just
being onto something, taking an idea farther that it never been before? Why does
it ever need to change? It doesn't.</span> <br>
<br>
Or if your nerves are based on something bigger, a fear of something bigger.
The world at large. Well, to that I do say yes, it's true there are right. The
future does indeed belong to you, <span style="background:yellow">but the
abstract weight of responsibility to change it overnight very much does not.
Real change is organic. You're the only responsibility you all have is to hold
fast to everything that you have lived right here. To not conform. To realize
that when you're out there, you've done all this before, right in here.
Remember fondly the discomfort you felt when you were asked to push yourself
farther than you were ever. Sure. You could go. <br>
In the wash of elation when you finally got there. Remember to be scared.
You've been there, scared before. You'll be scared again. Find more of your
people. Lean all the way in. Take chances, fail big and take chances again,
listen to music. Remember to believe in something and fall in love as many
times as it takes. And remember before you do something special, just do
something. The truth can almost seem too simple, but the simple truth is the
program you ran here is the same program. Just run it again and again and
again. That's what I know. Thank you to this class, to this institution is my
honor. Thank you."</span></span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">PEGGY HERE</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">I believe that some of us can apply some of these
ideas to our UU community...I love it because so many people are so much
smarter than I am, or smarter in different ways...and they are just so cool and
spiritually advanced</span></i></b><a name="_Hlk35285589"><b><i><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:FrankRuehl,sans-serif;color:black;background:aqua">…..they bring me up where I belong OH DO YOU KNOW THAT </span></i></b></a><b><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:150%;font-family:FrankRuehl,sans-serif;color:black;background:aqua">SONG?? See my
first post </span></b><b><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:150%;font-family:FrankRuehl,sans-serif;color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">attached
separately<i> </i></span></b><b><i><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial"> </span></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial"> </span></i></b><b><i><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">..and many of them accept me..AND THEY HAVE
COFFEE AND SNACKS.</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:6pt;line-height:150%"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">What's better than that? </span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:7pt;line-height:150%"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black;background-image:initial;background-position:initial;background-size:initial;background-repeat:initial;background-origin:initial;background-clip:initial">MY BIG IDEA </span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:3pt;line-height:150%"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black">We start a Facebook group online…. We can make it
public/private…whatever. </span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black"> NO MODERATOR.... you don't have to officially associate with
UU....we could call it MISS LONELYHEARTS and MR. LONELYHEARTS AND NON GENDERED
LONELYHEARTS. DETAILS TO BE WORKED OUT….</span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black">Whatever...something silly...</span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:8pt;line-height:150%"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(16,16,16);background:white">If
people never did silly things nothing intelligent would ever get done.</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 3.75pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><i><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102)">
</span></i></b><a href="https://www.brainyquote.com/authors/ludwig-wittgenstein-quotes"><b><i><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,170)">Ludwig Wittgenstein</span></i></b></a><i><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102)"></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 3.75pt;line-height:normal;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102)"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black">We ask people to post each week……A book that changed their life,
or a song that may or may not be well known…but that everybody should hear, or
a movie that really made them think. </span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black"> You can post…and read the suggestions of others…. you can
ignore stuff or check stuff out…. hop on or off whenever you want….</span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black"> No requirements…. JUST have fun trading ideas with your
friends.</span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black"> </span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.3in;line-height:150%;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black">
“And that’s all I have to say about that.”</span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;line-height:150%"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 0.0001pt;line-height:normal;background:rgb(252,252,252);font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black">Source: </span><span style="color:black"><a href="https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2019/05/30/john-krasinski-brown-university-baccalaureate-address" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:blue">https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2019/05/30/jo...</span></a></span><span style="font-size:13pt"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin:0in 0in 12pt;line-height:14.4pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black">Enjoyed this
speech?</span></b><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black"> Speakola is a labour of love and I’d be very grateful if you
would share, tweet or like it. Thank you.</span><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.2pt;background:rgb(252,252,252);margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black">See second attachment for an example.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.2pt;background:rgb(252,252,252);margin:0in 0in 8pt;font-size:11pt;font-family:Calibri,sans-serif"><span style="font-size:13pt;font-family:lft-etica-web,serif;color:black"> </span></p></div><div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr"><h1 style="margin:0px 0px 15px;color:rgb(24,24,24);font-weight:normal;padding:0px;font-size:14px;font-family:Merriweather,Georgia,serif;line-height:21px"><span></span></h1></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>