Sometimes a dinosaur will unearth an insight or a smile. Or, more directly put, occasionally a newspaper will publish snippets of compelling college commencement addresses. That's what the New York Times did on Sunday, June 15.

I don't remember anything said by the big-name (what was her name?) speaker in 1972 when I graduated from New York University, along with thousands of others, in a ceremony on the floor of Madison Square Garden just after the circus completed its last performance there (where was incense when you really needed it?).

But here's an excerpt from an address given by actress Jessica Lange at Sarah Lawrence College that helped me focus on the passing of time and the power of sharing one's time with others.

"If, from my vantage point now, I could tell my 22-year-old self what I now believe is the most important thing in life (and one I didn't embrace fully at the time because I was young and willful and reckless), it would be—to be present.

"I would encourage you, with all my heart, just to be present. Be present and open to the moment that is unfolding before you. Because, ultimately, your life is made up of moments. So don't miss them by being lost in the past or anticipating the future. Don't be absent from your own life.

"You will find that life is not governed by will or intention. It is ultimately the collection of these sense memories stored in our nerves, built up in our cells. Simple things:

• A certain slant of light coming through a window on a winter's afternoon
• The sound of spring peepers at twilight
• The taste of a strawberry still warm from the sun
• Your child's laughter
• Your mother's voice

"These are the things that shape our lives and settle into the fiber of our beings. Don't take them for granted. Slow down for them, they will take root.

"And someday 20-30-40 years from now, you may be going about your day when by chance the smell of bread baking or the sound of a mockingbird singing will stop you in your tracks and carry you heart and soul back to yourself.

"Moments of pure happiness, bliss—if you feel comfortable using that word—come upon you unexpectedly. Don't be too preoccupied to experience them."

(Lange's complete address is at http://www.slc.edu/news-events/Jessica_Lange_Commencement_Address.php )