Anyway,
The Paradoxical Commandments
With Kent M. Keith
Author
Monday, April 29, 2002; 1 p.m. EDT

When Kent M. Keith was a student at Harvard in the sixties he articulated 10 principles about how to find meaning in the world. Since then, they’ve traveled around the world and back again -- usually with no attribution at all. They’ve been cited as an anonymous poem on more than eighty Web sites, appropriated as song lyrics and tacked to the wall of Mother Teresa’s children’s home in Calcutta. Now Kent has collected his principles, which he calls the "Paradoxical Commandments" in the new book "Anyway."

Keith was online Monday, April 29 at 1 p.m. EDT, to discuss his book and the origins of his version of the 10 commandments.

A transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Washington, D.C.: What inspired you to write these commandments and how did you arrive at them?

Kent M. Keith: I wrote them in the 1960s. That was a turbulent time. I knew a lot of young people filled with hope and idealism who wanted to bring about change. Many of them became discouraged and even embittered because their work wasn't appreciated and change took so long to achieve.

I wanted to convince them that you had to really care about people and stay with it because change took time. I also wanted to convince them that if you did what you thought was right and good and true then you would receive a lot of personal meaning and satisfaction. If you had the meaning, you wouldn't need the glory.

I wrote a booklet for student leaders and as part of that wrote the commandments. Maybe people are illogical and self-centered. So what, you've got to love them anyway. You have to do good even if not appreciated.

So I wrote them really in response to my experience in the 60s with student leaders during a time of turmoil.

I arrived at the ten by thinking of the things that can be difficult or go wrong in the world. You can do good and be accused of selfish motives. You can have a big idea shot down. What you spend years building can be destroyed overnight.

So I started by listing things that could be difficult, then followed them with the commandment part. To establish the tension between good and doing what's right, because doing what's right is where the personal meaning is found. Even when things go wrong, you can still find personal meaning.

Arlington, Va.: Are these meant to replace the Bible's version of the ten commandments? Are these meant to be secular?

Kent M. Keith: Nothing can replace the Bible's 10 commandments. The paradoxical commandments are guideposts to help find personal meaning. Personal meaning is a key to deep happiness, whether people describe that as self-actualization or fulfillment or being centered or finding God's will for their lives. The paradoxical commandments are simply meant to help people find the kind of personal meaning that leads to deep happiness. They are written in a way that cuts across any particular theology or ideology. I think that's one reason they have spread so far around the world. They are consisent with many religions and philosophies, but not attached to any particular one.

Falls Church, Va. : Do you feel you live using these commandments in your daily life?

Kent M. Keith: Yes I do. I believed them when I wrote them 34 years ago and I've tried to live them ever since.

Bethesda, Md.: Why didn't you write the book earlier? Why wait four decades?

Kent M. Keith: I didn't know for 25 years that the paradoxical commandments were spreading around the world. I didn't know that they had become important to people all over the world. I decided to write a book about them when I learned that Mother Teresa or one of her co-workers had put them up on the wall at their childrens' home in Calcutta. I was very moved by that.

I've always had a lot of respect for Mother Teresa and been in a number of childrens' homes, so I know they can be heart-wrenching places. When I discovered the Paradoxical commandments were on her wall, I decided to write a book about them.

Alexandria, Va.: When you were a student at Harvard in the '60s did you know Al Gore?

Kent M. Keith: No, I didn't.

I almost met Bill Clinton but he left Oxford two months before I got there.

Alexandria, Va.: Are any of your commandments optional?

Kent M. Keith: All of the commandments are optional. They're just meant to be useful in finding personal meaning. It is very likely that the commandments that are important to a person at one stage in life, may be less important at another stage.

As we learn and grow and face different situations, different commandments will speak to us.

Washington, D.C.: How have the commandments changed your life?

Kent M. Keith: For 34 years, I've tried to live the paradoxical commandments. With recent publicity in the NYT and AP, and with the release of my new book -- my life is changing in a wonderful way. The reason is that I am hearing from people who have been using these all these years. People are sharing their stories with me. I'm now part of a growing network of kindred spirits. That's a deeply meaningful and satisfying experience to me.

Washington, DC: OK, I'm naive. What are your 10 principles?

Kent M. Keith: You can find these on the Web site linked at the top left of the discussion.

Washington, D.C.: Have you written any other books?

Kent M. Keith: I wrote three booklets in the late 60s and early 70s for high school student leaders and student council advisors. The commandments were part of the first boko that was published in 1968. It was titled "The Silent Revolution: Dynamic Leadership in the Student Council." All three of the student council booklets have been out of print for 25 years.

Virginia: Would you describe your book as a self-help sort of book? What genre of writing would your book be under?

Kent M. Keith: It's been classified as self-help and inspirational. It is designed to help any reader to find personal meaning so it is written in a simple and straight-forward style.

washingtonpost.com: What are some of the books that you draw inspiration from? Any favorite philosophies or authors?

Kent M. Keith: One of the books that meant a lot to me in college was Victor Frankel's book "Man's Search for Meaning." I also enjoy the works of C.S. Lewis and I enjoy reading the New Testament of the Bible.

Kent M. Keith: I'll be in Washington, D.C. on Friday, May 3 at Books-a-Million in Old Town Alexandria, Va.

   |      |