National Write Your Own Epitaph Day

Yesterday was another one of those unknown but rather quirky holidays.  (I would have posted this yesterday, but the computer was having issues.)  As often as I hear the word epitaph, I looked it up in the dictionary to make sure I knew exactly what it meant.  The definition is: a phrase or statement written in memory of a person who has died, especially as an inscription on a tombstone.  So yesterday was Write Your Own Epitaph Day?  How interesting!  What would I prefer to be remembered by?  What fond memory or personal characteristic would people say describes me?  One epitaph I would desire is Larger-Than-Life.  Another is Always Did His Own Thing.  For people who know me very well, both of those phrases describe me perfectly.  As I grow older I am saddened by people who don't live out their destiny, but rather live other people's idea of how they should live.  Steve Jobs is quoted as saying,
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.  
Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking.  
Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice.  
And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.  
They somehow already know what you truly want to become.  
Everything else is secondary." 
 Personally I strive to live according to the principles of integrity and character, which seem so at odds with the rest of the world.  Everyday I see people scurrying around trying to satisfy other people and their perception of how they should live.  I strongly encourage you, my reader, to live your life to such a degree others will know what you are all about.  The result is obvious as people will recognize your life motto and eventual epitaph.

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