Die Slowly
He who becomes the slave of habit,
who follows the same routes every day,
who never changes pace,
who does not risk and change the color of his clothes,
who does not speak and does not experience,
dies slowly.He or she who shuns passion,
who prefers black on white,
dotting ones i’s rather than a bundle of emotions, the kind that make your eyes glimmer,
that turn a yawn into a smile,
that make the heart pound in the face of mistakes and feelings,
dies slowly.He or she who does not turn things topsy-turvy,
who is unhappy at work,
who does not risk certainty for uncertainty,
to thus follow a dream,
those who do not forego sound advice at least once in their lives,
die slowly.He who does not travel, who does not read,
who does not listen to music,
who does not find grace in himself,
she who does not find grace in herself,
dies slowly.He who slowly destroys his own self-esteem,
who does not allow himself to be helped,
who spends days on end complaining about his own bad luck, about the rain that never stops,
dies slowly.He or she who abandons a project before starting it, who fails to ask questions on subjects he doesn’t know, he or she who doesn’t reply when they are asked something they do know,
dies slowly.Let’s try and avoid death in small doses,
reminding oneself that being alive requires an effort far greater than the simple fact of breathing.Only a burning patience will lead
to the attainment of a splendid happiness.– Martha Medeiros
Thanks, Colleen. I needed that reminder. It’s too easy to focus on what I’m not doing rather than remember what I am.
Hey Sharry. I do exactly the same thing! We’ll have to keep reminding each other 🙂
This is about taking chances with your life. Anticipating the future rather than longing for the past, always looking forward, learning new things and revising your thoughts and opinions. Your mind is the fountain of youth.
Catherine, excellent summary. I couldn’t agree more on your last statement, “Your mind is the fountain of youth.”
Live like a constantly burning flame, I say, without requiring rescue 🙂 Helps to not burn others while I’m at it though.
Hey Laurie, I love it. Viktor Frankl said, “What is to give light must endure burning.” And yes, the trick is not to flame others in the process 🙂
Oh, dear. He’s written about me.
Sharry, you are the woman living the kind of life he’s talking about…traveling in Bhutan, creating glass mosaics, cycling, creating and writing. You are definitely not doing the ‘die slowly’!