Actor Denzel Washington and author Anthony Carter spoke at Fordham University on themes of friendship and a purpose-driven life. The two met as students at Fordham and have remained friends for more than 50 years. The occasion for the Fordham event was a celebration of Carter’s book, This I Know: Principles for a Life of Faith and Optimism, with a foreword by Washington.
In a discussion moderated by Fordham President Tania Tetlow, she asked, “In the book, you ask an important question: What do you do for others that gives you a purpose-driven life?”
Washington responded first, “I’ll answer it with almost the same words: What you do for others gives you purpose in life.”
Carter elaborated on the theme:
I learned to live a life of purpose, but not knowing always what purpose was. And then when I started to see that what you do for people, some you don’t even know…being able to provide support, it doesn’t feel mandatory. You know, it feels like you’re supposed to. And sometimes we pause. As weird as this may seem, you gotta listen for your calling, you know? Don’t be baffled by what did that just mean? Just take it in, because it means something. You know, each of us is anointed with some special something, and if we don’t pay attention to that, we don’t always know what it is we’re supposed to do. And I listen for that. Sometimes it’s noisy. Sometimes it’s messy. But that’s sending you through something. You got to get through that. And it lands in that space where, I’m glad we did that.
Watch the full discussion and question-and-answer period below.
Image provided by Fordham University.
