7 Uvodnik / Editorial ACTA MEDICO–BIOTECHNICA 2024; 17 (2): 7-8 We cannot wish for success, and we cannot seek it. Success is not the goal. It is the result of our work. The Day of the University of Maribor, September 12, 2024 Upon the presentation of this year’s awards and acknowledgments on the Day of the University of Maribor, I was given the pleasant opportunity to show my gratitude on behalf of all award winners. Among this year’s recipients was Sir Gregory Paul Winter, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2018, and who on that auspicious day was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university. To write a speech for this event was no easy task. I wanted to pay homage to all award winners, regardless of their field. I looked for what was common to them all and what connected them despite their different life paths. What should such a speech contain—thoughts of life, of success and defeat, of the realization of dreams, of love, of happiness, of our companions, of inevitable self-discipline and hard work? I looked for those themes which are common to us all, but rarely spoken of, especially on occasions like this one. At the same time I wanted the speech to reach everyone present and to leave them with something to think about. Below, I present the speech in its entirety. Esteemed Mr. Rector, laureates, and guests, On this important day for our university, the Dies Academicus of the University of Maribor, I have the pleasant duty to thank you on behalf of all the laureates. Everything in life is connected. The flower of life consists of many circles that together symbolize its entirety. Its petals know neither victory nor defeat, but only the actions that represent life itself. Life is never wasted. When we look back on our travelled path and remember the moments when we suffered and when we rejoiced, we were always giving something to someone, even if we didn’t realize it. It is a mistake to think that happiness consists in never experiencing defeat. Those who have never lost have Uspeha si ne moremo želeti, ga iskati. Uspeh ni cilj, uspeh je posledica našega dela. Dan Univerze v Mariboru, 12. 9. 2024 Ob podelitvi letošnjih nagrad in priznanj ob Dnevu Univerze v Mariboru me je doletela prijetna dolžnost, da se v imenu vseh nagrajencev zahvalim. Med letošnjimi nagrajenci je bil tudi Nobelov nagrajenec za kemijo iz leta 2018, Sir Gregory Paul Winter, ki mu je Univerza v Mariboru podelila naziv častni doktor univerze, kar je ta dan še polepšalo. Ni bilo preprosto strniti misli na vsebino zahvale, ki jo je dogodek zajemal. V govor sem si prizadevala vključiti misli vseh nagrajencev, ne glede na njihova področja in vsebine ter poudariti tisto, kar jih kljub različnim življenjskim poteh povezuje. In kaj bi poudarila? Razmišljanja o življenju, uspehu in porazu, o uresničevanju naših sanj, ljubezni, sreči, sopotnikih, ki so nas spremljali, o neizbežni samodisciplini ter trdem delu. O temah, ki so nam vsem skupne, a o teh ne govorimo pogosto. Hkrati sem želela, da se zahvala dotakne vseh navzočih na podelitvi in jih popelje v nadaljnja razmišljanja. Zahvalni govor navajam v celoti. »Spoštovani g. rektor, spoštovane nagrajenke in nagrajenci, cenjeni gostje, ob današnjem pomembnem dnevu za našo Univerzo, Dnevu Univerze v Mariboru, imam prijetno dolžnost, da se v imenu vseh nagrajencev zahvalim. V življenju je vse med seboj povezano. Lahko govorimo o roži življenja, sestavljeni iz množice krogov, ki simbolizirajo celoto. Naravni krog ne pozna ne zmag ne porazov, pozna le dejanja. Ponuja življenje samo. Življenje ni nikoli zaman. Ko se ozremo na prehojeno pot in se spomnimo vseh trenutkov preizkušenj ter trenutkov veselja, smo vedno nekomu nekaj dajali, četudi se tega nismo zavedali. Zmotno je mišljenje, da so tisti, ki niso nikoli doživeli poraza srečni, saj poznajo resnico. Zanje velja le, da niso izgubili nobene bitke, in hkrati da v nobeni bitki niso https:/ /doi.org/10.18690/actabiomed.271, CC BY 4.0 © 2024 Avtor(ji) / The Author(s) PREGLEDNI ČLANEK / REVIEW PREGLEDNI ČLANEK / REVIEW 8 Uvodnik / Editorial ACTA MEDICO–BIOTECHNICA 2024; 17 (2): 7-8 zmagali. Za razliko od poražencev, ki so izgubili, a niso odnehali, kajti ko odnehamo, se več ne borimo. In pri tem gre za pomembno razliko. Takoj, ko boj ponovno začnemo, poraza ni več. V primeru, da odnehamo, je to trajna odločitev in postane del naše življenjske izbire. Pogumni lahko doživijo poraz, a ker niso odnehali, se že veselijo svojih novih uspehov. Prizadevati si moramo živeti tako, kot si želimo in s tem poskušati uresničevati svoje sanje. Na svoji poti srečujemo številne ljudi, ki razmišljajo podobno. Postanejo naši sopotniki, z njimi izmenjujemo mnenja, skupaj smo tudi v zahtevnih trenutkih. Z njimi postajamo modrejši, naše življenje pa bogatejše. Življenje je prekratko, da bi ga izgubljali sami. Svet opazujmo vedno s široko odprtimi očmi in se zavedajmo svojega obstoja v času in kraju. Pomembno je, da opravljamo dejavnost, ki smo ji v celoti predani, ta pa nas zadovoljuje in prinaša srečo in ljubezen. Takšno prizadevanje, se vedno obrestuje. Z njim dokazujemo ljubezen do drugih. Delo, ki smo ga začeli, nameravamo dokončati, četudi nam vedno to ne uspe. Ko začneta volja in energija za delo popuščati, si pomagamo s samodisciplino. Slednja je velikokrat odločilna in nas lahko vodi do konca. Kadar postanemo utrujeni, je čas za počitek in premislek o novih nadaljnjih korakih. Ne smemo dovoliti, da nas poraz dotolče in razmišljati o izgubljenem, ker se naše sanje niso izpolnile. Uspešni ne primerjamo svoja dejanja z drugimi, ampak zahtevamo od sebe trdo in neizprosno ustvarjanje. Uspeha si ne moremo želeti, ga iskati. Uspeh ni cilj, uspeh je posledica našega dela. Pri tem ne smemo pozabiti, da do cilja ne pridemo sami, zato moramo biti hvaležni in spoštovati ter ceniti vse, ki so nam na tej poti pomagali. Na koncu se v imenu vseh nagrajencev iskreno zahvaljujem vsem predlagateljem za nagrade in priznanja Univerze v Mariboru ter vsem prisotnim, ki z nami delite srečo današnjega dne.« Zasl. prof. dr. Dušica Pahor, odgovorna urednica not won either. There is value is losing yet not giving up, because when we give up, we stop fighting. And that’s a significant difference. As soon as we start fighting again, there is no more defeat. Quitting is a permanent decision and indeed a life choice. The courageous experience defeat and because they don’t give up. Even in defeat, they only look forward to new successes. We must try to live the way we want, try to make our dreams come true. Along the way, we meet many like-minded people. They become our companions. We share opinions with them, and we stay together even through tough times. With them, we become wiser—our life richer. Life is too short to waste it alone. Let’s always observe the world with eyes wide open. Let’s be aware of our presence in time and space. It is vital to devote ourselves to our work. This work is the source of our satisfaction, of our happiness and love. This kind of work always pays off. With it, we demonstrate our love for others. Even if we hope to finish all of the work we start, we don’t always succeed. When the willpower and energy to work begin to wane, we endeavor with self-discipline. This is often crucial in order to follow things through. But when we succumb to fatigue, it’s time to rest and consider our next move. We must not let defeat knock us down. We must not think about what we have lost if our dreams don’t come true. Successful people do not compare their actions to others but demand from themselves hard and relentless work. We cannot wish for success, we cannot seek it. Success is not the goal. It’s the result of our work. We must not forget that we never reach our goals on our own. We must be grateful and show respect to everyone who helped us along the way. On behalf of all the laureates, I sincerely thank all the nominators for the awards and recognitions of the University of Maribor and all of you here who share with us the happiness of this day. Prof. Em., MD, PhD Editor-in-Chief Non nobis solum nati sumus Nismo rojeni samo zase. Cicero Non nobis solum nati sumus Not for ourselves are we born Cicero