Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you're there.
Interpretation
We all leave a legacy behind after we die, whether it's a person, a creation, or a simple act of care.
This quote emphasizes the importance of leaving a tangible legacy that connects us to the world after we are gone. It suggests that through our creations and the lives we touch, we continue to exist in spirit, as our contributions hold significance and foster memories that keep us alive in the hearts of others.
In practice
This quote can be used during a memorial service to highlight the impact a loved one had on others.
I've written about 2,000 short stories; I've only published 300 and I feel I'm still learning. Any man who keeps working is not a failure. He may not be a great writer, but if he applies the old fashioned virtues of hard, constant labor, he'll eventually make some kind of career for himself as a writer. Ray Bradbury, 1967 interview (Doing the Math - that means for every story he sold, he wrote six "un-publishable" ones. Keep typing!)
I never went to college, so I went to the library.
There must be something in books, something we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.
I think the sun is a flower, That blooms for just one hour.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited. He should be a thing of fevers and enthusiasms. Without such vigor, he might as well be out picking peaches or digging ditches; God knows it'd be better for his health.
You can't try to do things; you simply must do them.
I'm OK. Much better than on other occasions. It's true that I've made lots of mistakes but I've never tried to bother anyone. I want to stay alive, preferably in peace, without seeing every one of my mistakes in the papers, and on many occasions, even stories that are lies.
The years seem to rush by now, and I think of death as a fast approaching end of a journey-double and treble reason for loving as well as working while it is day.
I think of my life as a kind of music, not always good music but still having form and melody.
Getting old is not a matter of age; it's a lack of # movement . And the ultimate lack of movement is death.
It will take all your heart, it will take all your breath It will be short, it will not be simple
Nobody else can be alive for you; nor can you be alive for anybody else.
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