Once I asked an old man if he was afraid of dying. He said no. Because once I'm dead I won't know anything about it, he said. I said, isn't that the part people are afraid of? And he said, yes, but it doesn't mean they're right. What do you mean, I asked. I mean, he replied, that they should stop wasting time being afraid of dying and spend more time being afraid of not living. For all they know, it's the only life they've got. They should stop sitting quivering like frightened rabbits and just live the best lives they can live. Do something great. And I said, yes, I see.
But then I said, so, what have you done with your life?
He paused, and I was worried I'd offended him. Then he said, I lived it. And I said, well, so did everyone else. And he said, well, I lived it well enough for me. Maybe I didn't do anything great, he said, but all those men who did - and women, I said - and women, he said - all those men who did, where are they now?
They're dead, I said.
Exactly, he said.
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