My mother once repeated a quote to me that really had a profound impact on me.
"Do not die with your music still in you."
~ Dr. Wayne Dyer
For me, the quote was slightly inspiring, and hugely terrifying. Of course, I was young at the time. I had the mentality that I would live forever. This statement, however, set fire and awakened that small lump of mortality in me.
I have all of these ideas, all these theories, and all these stories locked away in my mind. I've prattled them out to a handful of people, but none I would trust with retelling them. If I were to die tomorrow, I would take those stories to my grave. They would be lost forever, having never been told.
Now I'm not saying something ridiculous like "YOLO!" I do not believe you should live as if there's no tomorrow, because, well, tomorrow has had a fairly solid track record so far. I wouldn't bet against it.
We each came into this world with something beautiful, or powerful or just plain brilliant inside of us. The whole point of being here is to deliver that package; to share it with others. If you die, having never told your story, it will be the greatest tragedy of your life, and a terrible loss to the world.
The world is getting darker, and people have begun to cling to their internal lights. They huddle around them, for fear of being exposed or ridiculed. Possibly they just fear letting go of the only bit of warmth they've ever had. But if you're going to clutch it forever, then bury it in the ground with your remains, then what were you doing here in the first place.
I'll wrap this up by leaving you with another quote, along the same lines.
"A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."
~ John Augustus Shedd
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