“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” – Steve Jobs
Image: “The sky you breath…” by Dhilung Kirat via Flickr.
Welcome! I am a lawyer turned freelance writer, essayist, and editor. On staff at Literary Mama and the co-founder and co-editor of the literary journal, The Sunlight Press, my essays and reported work have appeared in The Washington Post, The Lily, Saveur, Civil Eats, Brain, Child, ESPN and elsewhere. I am currently at work on a memoir on grief and culture and how it provides perspective on life’s ordinary graces. I invite you to appreciate the ordinary with me. I hope my daily practice of seeing the magic in the mundane helps you celebrate and find more of these moments in your life too.
A useful shift in perspective for me lately has been to think about how I want to remember having parented these little ones that are in my care, rather than reacting with anger or frustrating in the moment when they are being difficult. In twenty years, when they’re grown and out of the house, will this really matter?
That is great observation, Sarah. When we are in the middle of things, it is often necessary to ask whether that particular moment should be a part of our legacy. I am not always attune to this particular thought, but having reminders (such as Steve Jobs quote) helps me remember again.
Good food for thought, Rudri.
Oh wow. I love his quotes. They always make me both happy and sad.
His words often have an edge that make me think. And yes, they are sometimes mired in sadness.
Wow. That’s powerful.