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When I graduated UCLA,
I moved to Northern California,

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and I lived in a little town called Elk,
on the Mendocino coast.

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And I didn't have a phone or TV,
but I had US mail.

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And life was good back then --
if you could remember it.

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I'd go to the general store
for a cup of coffee and a brownie,

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I'd ship my film to San Francisco,

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and lo and behold, two days later,

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it would end up on my front door,

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which was way better than having
to fight the traffic of Hollywood.

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I didn't have much money,

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but I had time and a sense of wonder.

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So I started shooting
time-lapse photography.

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It would take me a month to shoot
a four-minute roll of film,

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because that's all I could afford.

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I've been shooting time-lapse
flowers continuously, nonstop,

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24 hours a day, seven days a week,

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for over 30 years.

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And to see them move
is a dance I'll never get tired of.

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Their beauty immerses us
with color, taste, touch.

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It also provides a third
of the food we eat.

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Beauty and seduction
are nature's tools for survival,

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because we protect
what we fall in love with.

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It opens our hearts

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and makes us realize
we are a part of nature,

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and we're not separate from it.

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When we see ourselves in nature,

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it also connects us to every one of us,

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because it's clear
that it's all connected in one.

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When people see my images,
a lot of times they'll say,

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"Oh my God."

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Have you ever wondered what that meant?

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The "oh" means it caught your attention;

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it makes you present, makes you mindful.

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The "my" means it connects
with something deep inside your soul.

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It creates a gateway for your inner voice
to rise up and be heard.

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And "God"?

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God is that personal journey
we all want to be on,

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to be inspired,

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to feel like we're connected
to a universe that celebrates life.

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Did you know that 80 percent
of the information we receive

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comes through our eyes,

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and if you compare light energy
to musical scales,

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it would only be one octave
that the naked eye could see,

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which is right in the middle?

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And aren't we grateful for our brains,

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that can take this electrical impulse
that comes from light energy

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to create images in order
for us to explore our world?

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And aren't we grateful that we have hearts
that can feel these vibrations

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in order for us to allow ourselves

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to feel the pleasure
and the beauty of nature?

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Nature's beauty is a gift

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that cultivates
appreciation and gratitude.

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So, I have a gift I want
to share with you today,

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a project I'm working on
called "Happiness Revealed."

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And it'll give us a glimpse
into that perspective --

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from the point of view
of a child and an elderly man --

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of that world.

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Little girl: When I watch TV,

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it's just some shows
that you just -- that are pretend.

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And when you explore,

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you get more imagination
than you already had,

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and when you get more imagination,

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it makes you want to go deeper in

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so you can get more
and see beautifuller things,

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like the path,

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if it's a path, it could lead you
to a beach or something,

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and it could be beautiful.

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(Music)

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(Narrator) Brother David Steindl-Rast:
Do you think this is just another day

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in your life?

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It's not just another day.

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It's the one day that is given to you:

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today.

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It's given to you.

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It's a gift.

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It's the only gift
that you have right now.

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And the only appropriate response

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is gratefulness.

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If you do nothing else
but to cultivate that response

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to the great gift that this unique day is,

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if you learn to respond
as if it were the first day in your life

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and the very last day,

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then you will have spent
this day very well.

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Begin by opening your eyes

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and be surprised
that you have eyes you can open,

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that incredible array of colors
that is constantly offered to us

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for our pure enjoyment.

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Look at the sky.

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We so rarely look at the sky.

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We so rarely note how different it is
from moment to moment,

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with clouds coming and going.

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We just think of the weather,

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and even with the weather,

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we don't think of all
the many nuances of weather.

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We just think of "good weather"
and "bad weather."

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This day, right now, has unique weather,

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maybe a kind that will never exactly,
in that form, come again.

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The formation of clouds
in the sky will never be the same

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as it is right now.

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Open your eyes. Look at that.

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Look at the faces of people whom you meet.

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Each one has an incredible story

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behind their face,

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a story that you could never fully fathom,

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not only their own story,
but the story of their ancestors.

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We all go back so far,

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and in this present moment, on this day,

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all the people you meet,
all that life from generations

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and from so many places all over the world

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flows together and meets you here,

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like a life-giving water,

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if you only open your heart and drink.

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(Music)

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Open your heart to the incredible gifts

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that civilization gives to us.

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You flip a switch,
and there is electric light.

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You turn a faucet, and there
is warm water and cold water,

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and drinkable water.

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It's a gift that millions
and millions in the world

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will never experience.

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So these are just a few
of an enormous number of gifts

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to which we can open your heart.

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And so I wish you
that you will open your heart

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to all these blessings,

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and let them flow through you,

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that everyone whom you
will meet on this day

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will be blessed by you,

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just by your eyes,

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by your smile,

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by your touch,

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just by your presence.

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Let the gratefulness overflow

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into blessing all around you.

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And then, it will really be

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a good day.

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(Applause)

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Louie Schwartzberg: Thank you.

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(Applause)

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Thank you very much.

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(Applause)