“There Is A Crack In Everything That’s How The Light Gets In.” – Leonard Cohen
“There Is A Crack In Everything That’s How The Light Gets In.” – Leonard Cohen
Shaun Nishmas
Good morning, faculty members and students.
Let me start by saying that I am very proud to be addressing such a distinguished audience.
We have gathered here today to celebrate imperfection. Yes, I said imperfection, not perfection. Today I will be talking to you about imperfection and knowledge—and how each thrives on the other. During this meeting, I will take the position that in a perfect world, you cannot attain knowledge. Only in an imperfect world can knowledge thrive. That is why we should celebrate imperfection.
Ask yourself: can you learn anything if everything were perfect?
Do we learn more when something is imperfect, or when something is perfect? I believe that we learn more when something is imperfect. If everything were perfect, all imperfections would be eliminated, and I mean ALL.
What is perfection?
The oldest definition of “perfection” is by Aristotle, a renowned Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He once wrote about three different ways of looking at perfection:
1. Perfection is complete — that which contains all the requisite parts.
2. Perfection is so good that nothing of the kind could be better.
3. Perfection is that which has attained its purpose.
You might say that perfection is, broadly, a state of completeness and flawlessness. By definition, perfection would stop the pursuit of knowledge because there would be nothing left to pursue. We are talking about a state of completeness and flawlessness, after all. In other words, if everything were complete and flawless, there would be no need to learn anything.
In a perfect world, every story would have a happy ending, so we wouldn’t learn the lessons that come from sadness.
In a perfect world, we would all be New York Yankees, so we would never learn the lessons that come from the agony of defeat.
In a perfect world, everyone would be popular, so we would never learn the lessons that come from isolation and loneliness.
In a perfect world, nobody would die, so we would never learn the lessons that come from grief.
I can honestly argue that we would not need to learn anything because all our needs would be met…perfectly. So why question anything? Why bother?
So do we learn more if something is imperfect? I think so.
I would even venture to say that something needs to be imperfect before we can learn something. Even perfection isn’t perfect. Without the knowledge that comes from imperfection, perfection would cease to be perfect. According to Leonard Cohen, one of the most important and influential songwriters of the 20th century, “There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”
What does Leonard Cohen mean by the crack? I believe that it is imperfection. What is imperfection? If perfection is a state of completeness and flawlessness, then imperfection is a flawed, incomplete state that could only inspire perfection in the form of knowledge.
Unless the heart breaks, you would never learn about love.
Unless you’ve been wronged, you would never learn about what is right.
Unless you failed at something, you would never learn about success.
By recognizing the lessons that come from an imperfect world and learning from them, we attain personal growth and well-being. In other words, the “light” Leonard Cohen talks about.
The pathway to this light is not a perfectly straight line. There are many cracks in the road, each leading to a different truth. Hundreds, if not thousands, of truths, in fact. In an imperfect world, there’s no limit to how much you can learn…how much light can come into your life.
I hope the cracks in your world bring light to your life.
Thank you.
A master-piece of Leonard Cohen
Video Rating: 4 / 5
Tags: Cohen, Crack, Everything, Gets, Leonard, Light, That's, There
July 28th, 2010 at 2:02 am
Wow
July 28th, 2010 at 2:15 am
@aliedr true – as he says in another song – the “winter hood of every government”
July 28th, 2010 at 2:24 am
love this poet cat.
July 28th, 2010 at 3:06 am
Great song and a great artist
July 28th, 2010 at 3:56 am
@tjbayliss – Absolutely right-What a strong lyricist !!
July 28th, 2010 at 4:49 am
Everybody knonws Leonard ’s the greatest !!
July 28th, 2010 at 5:06 am
@Rassistenetflix I’m not even Jewish and I’m offended at the magnitude of your ignorance and how you HAVE TO blame someone else (i.e. the Jews) so you don’t feel so fucking inferior. Get some counseling, asshole.
July 28th, 2010 at 5:34 am
Thanks for all the beautiful music Leonard….love, joanie
July 28th, 2010 at 6:25 am
i just love this song. Long life to Leo
July 28th, 2010 at 6:42 am
Everybody knows,we all know lifes not worth the try, thats how it goes. we just dont want to say it out loud…
July 28th, 2010 at 7:26 am
@Rassistenetflix @Rassistenetflix learn some history kid before making such broad statements. kennedy started vietnam war who hated jews. roosevelt hated jews and was forced to enter ww2 only after japanese attacked, otherwise he would have celebrated gassing of jews. mongolian invasion of asia and europe had no jewish involvement. so if u hate jews (and there are reasons) at least use facts and not at bullshit, because otherwise people who know history wont buy it.
July 28th, 2010 at 8:20 am
@Rassistenetflix learn some history kid before making such broad statements. kennedy started vietnam war who hated jews. roosevelt hated jews and was forced to enter ww2 only after japanese attacked, otherwise he would have celebrated gassing of jews. mongolian invasion of asia and europe had no jewish involvement. so if u hate jews (and there are reasons) at least use facts and not at bullshit, because otherwise people who know history wont buy it.
July 28th, 2010 at 8:57 am
EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT LEONARD RULEZZ !
July 28th, 2010 at 9:50 am
@comfortablynumbb Jews respond by fomenting wars, financing both sides and then sit back and laugh as their enemies slaughter eachother ala Christian Vs. Muslim. Jews respond by dumping white phospherous on innocent children because their parents want to be free of the terrible yolk of Jewish rule. Jews respond by murdering 200+ US white soldiers on the USS Liberty in broad daylight when the ship was easily able to be identified as a friendly vessel. You and those like you are the true scum.
July 28th, 2010 at 10:24 am
@Rassistenetflix Jews respond with science, music,art, and overall progression of quality and intelligence of human existence while losers like you can only envy this quality and resort to hate and intimidation which only set us back as humans. Therefore, you are the true parasite and hopefully will die soon.
July 28th, 2010 at 11:15 am
@aliedr actually the poor can become rich by stepping on the right path and sticking to it.
July 28th, 2010 at 11:41 am
@comfortablynumbb when the Jew has nothing real to respond with it resorts to baseless personal attacks. Case in point. In truth I love my race and desire to see it survive and because of this I have no other choice but to resist the Jew at every possible level that I can. I see you for the parasite that you are jew boy and the rest of the white race is beginning to wake up to the reality of what you and your people really are as well.
July 28th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
@Rassistenetflix the funniest part of this is that you’re clearly obsessed with Jews otherwise you wouldn’t be viewing a melodic piece of art by a Jew. Browsing through your profile and judging by your response to me it is clear that you’re just a hatemonger and I am almost certain its because you are a loser who has amounted to nothingin life so this is your way to account for that insecurity.
July 28th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
@Rassistenetflix the funniest part of this is that you’re clearly obsessed with Jews otherwise you wouldn’t be viewing a melodic piece of art by a Jew. Browsing through your profile and judging by your response to me it is clear that you’re just a hatemonger and I am almost certain its because you are a loser who has amounted to anything in life so this is your way to account for that insecurity.
July 28th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
@comfortablynumbb Christianity and Communism were both invented by jews to enslave the minds of a certain large percentage of the white race. Jews are experts at white’s psychology. They know what makes a lot of us tick. Islam is merely an offshoot of jew created Christianity. Christian Zionism is responsible for many of our people going off to die in the Jews worthless wars today because they think its going to bring Jesus back. Communism and Christianity are protests against nature itself.
July 28th, 2010 at 2:07 pm
@comfortablynumbb because anyone that exposes jews for their crimes is automatically “insane”. Typical commie tactics. Unfortunately more and more people wake up to the reality of your tribe every day Rabbi.
July 28th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
@Rassistenetflix LOL. you’re clearly the 1 with mental issues and need serious psychotherapy. Unlike christians and muslims, Jews have never imposed their religion on anybody, like christians in crusades and with muslims its obvious. Don’t be hateful because you’re jealous of talent and stfu.
July 28th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
everybody knows than you are a master leonard cohen
everybody knows than i love this song
everybody knows than you are bigger
everybody knows than you are the best poet
everybody knows
July 28th, 2010 at 3:51 pm
@bewaver when he says everybody knows the good guys lost he is referring to the 3rd Reich. Jew Leonard Cohen is exposing the truth of what the Jews have done and are going to do to the white race in his songs unless our race gets clued in and puts a stop to it. His other song The Future is also very blatant and easy to understand. Its not poetry its a psychopath putting everything out there in plain sight.
July 28th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
@screamingthrough He started as a poet actually. He had 2 books of poetry published before he graduated from college. Then he began his music career.