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.
Care-charmer Sleep, son of the sable Night, Brother to Death, in silent darkness born, Relieve my languish and restore the light; With dark forgetting of my care return. And let the day be time enough to mourn The shipwreck of my ill adventured youth: Let waking eyes suffice to wail their scorn Without the torment of the night's untruth.
You never know the biggest day of your life is your biggest day, not until it’s happening. You don’t recognize the biggest day of your life, not until you’re right in the middle of it. The day you commit to something or someone. The day you get your heart broken. The day you meet your soul mate. The day you realize there’s not enough time because you wanna live forever. Those are the biggest days. The perfect days.
This is the rock 'n' roll life, and you had to invent it as you went along. There was no textbook to say how you operate this machinery.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
Do not seek death. Death will find you. But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment.
No memory of having starred atones for later disregard, or keeps the end from being hard.
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