Over the last few days, in my 'down time' I have been collating and formatting the tribute and condolence messages that the group to which I belong want to pass on to the family of our 'littlest hoho' (youngest member) whose funeral is today. On the front I have added this quote, which I first came across almost a decade ago, which offers a better way of measuring a life...
“We cannot, after all, judge a biography by its length, by the number of pages in it; we must judge by the richness of the contents...Sometimes the 'unfinisheds' are among the most beautiful symphonies.”
Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor And The Soul
Although I have not shared it in the context of the group, it is too soon and emotions too raw, I also like this poem...
It was beautiful
As long as it lasted
The journey of my life.
I have no regrets
Whatsoever save
The pain I’ll leave behind.
Farewell my friends
I smile and bid you goodbye.
No, shed no tears,
For I need them not.
All I need is your smile.
If you feel sad
Do think of me
For that’s what I like.
When you live in the hearts
Of those you love
Remember then –
You never die.
Gitanjali, an Indian teenager, written shortly before her death from cancer.
In a culture where success is measured by the quantitative 'how much' it is vital to offer the counter point that true value lies in the qualitative 'how rich'.