Be someone who’s missed They said So I spent my life Collecting notifications From distant platforms To prove to myself That people think of me I thought But something was missed
Helping busy people do inner work.
Be someone who’s missed They said So I spent my life Collecting notifications From distant platforms To prove to myself That people think of me I thought But something was missed
One day we’ll just be memories.
Scattered amongst the brains of the world.
Act today the way you want to be remembered in those brains.
For when it comes down to it, that’s how your whole life will be summarized.
Within the confines of just a few memories.
From just a few brains who contain the most potent ones.
And today could be the day that you leave the gift of a potent memory (or two) behind.
It certainly couldn’t hurt to act like it anyway.
What’s the best way to honor those who have passed?
By keeping them alive in our thoughts and stories.
For at the end of life, isn’t that what we all want? To be remembered?
And not just as a person who died. But, remembered for the person we were when we were alive. The things we’d say. The emotions we’d show. The quirky things we’d do. The situations we’d speak up against. The values we’d relentlessly stand by. These are the things that bring a person to life after they, or we, have passed.
When someone passes, it can be hard to replay all of these things in our head. Painful emotional responses may erupt unwillingly which might makes us avoid, suppress, and/or distract ourselves from remembering. But, we mustn’t.
We must carefully replay the image of our loved one’s life in our mind and deeply embody the parts that impacted us. And then, as the only bearer of that part of their legacy from our own unique perspective, we must carefully replay that image for others so that they, too, can be impacted.
With this, I leave you with five thoughts: (1) Who do you honor in your life? (2) How do you honor them? (3) Who’s going to honor your life? (4) What parts of your life do you want people to embody the most? (5) How can you best embody those parts of your life while you’re still here?
“Know someone as much as you can. Hold onto the moments that define them. Then when their body leaves, they won’t.”
Iain Thomas, via MoveMe Quotes
For a story to be told, there needs to be a storyteller. Even the most fantastical, awe-inspiring stories get forgotten when nobody remembers to tell it. Each of us holds a sacred responsibility to the other: to be the storytellers of each other’s lives. Or, said differently, we are the bearers of each other’s legacies.
We choose every day what stories to read, what stories to listen to, what stories to seek out, and what stories to share. The books that we read and don’t read; the conversations that we have and don’t have; and the sides of our own story that we share and don’t share—all make up the interconnected webbing of stories that thread their way through our minds and the minds of those around us.
When somebody passes away—when their body leaves—what’s left behind isn’t their story, it’s what’s remembered of their story. If nothing was ever shared of a person’s story, how can there be a story to tell? The knowledge of the story needs to be passed from one person to the other in order for that to happen.
Many people think their story is comprised of accomplishments, accolades, milestones, and status markers. But those elements rarely make for a good story. What makes for a good story is emotion—what that person was like while they were accomplishing; how they treated those around them in spite of the accolades; how they prioritized their time while they hit milestones; and what made that person authentically them regardless of any status markers.
We care about emotion because emotion is what makes us human. Emotion is what says, “Oh, you’ve felt that way too?” “I understand what you’re going through because I’ve been there.” “This is what being human has been like for me—maybe it can help you figure this human thing out, too.”
Stories are like emotional roadmaps given from one person to another. Some are incredibly helpful. Some are irrelevant. Some are life changing. And some are forgotten. But, one thing is for sure—we’ll never know a story’s impact if we never hear it. And we’ll never know our story’s impact if we never share it.
Know someone as much as you can—read their books; listen to their stories; seek out conversations with them; ask interesting questions; and soak in all that they’re trying to share. Hold onto the moments that define them. And maybe they’ll do the same for you. This way, when their body leaves—they won’t. And when your body leaves—you won’t either.
This post became the introduction for: 28 Timeless Morrie Schwartz Quotes from Tuesdays With Morrie