Caveat Empty..sorry Caveat Emptor: The caption of this piece is inspired by Todd Henry‘s seminal book of the same name ” Die Empty “.
( I had the opportunity to interview Todd Henry– If you are keen , you can watch it here https://www.brandknewmag.com/todd-talk-nothing-accidental-about-it/ )
Look no further. The wealthiest place on the planet is just down the road. It is the cemetery. No, I am dead serious. And it is a matter of grave concern.
“ The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.”- so said Les Brown. And what a telling commentary that is on the ‘ ground reality ‘ .
Most of us live with the stubborn idea that we’ll always have tomorrow. But sooner or later all of our tomorrows will run out. It is finite.
We have: One life to live. One life to die. One life to learn and practice what you have learnt. One life to learn multiple skills, arts, hobbies, sports…multiple professions. One life to experience joy in what you perform. One life to share, give, pass on, teach and donate so that you die empty but Rich every which way.
Look within. Let’s define it as WINtrospect (there is no such word in the dictionary, yet). There is a gold mine waiting to be explored. But, all that we seem to do is exchange ourselves for fear to trade on a silver platter. So busy short changing ourselves. As they say, ‘ ideas are plenty but ideas without action are regrets ‘. No need to die before we die. That is called living empty. If power dynamics were to come into play, go empty to the graveyard. Prepare to disappoint it.
Eckhart Tolle has beautifully articulated that the ‘ present is a present ‘ in his book, The Power of Now.
‘Could have‘, ‘might have‘, and ‘should have‘ must be classified in the ‘Must Not Have‘ category of life. So, instead of being afraid your life will end; be afraid that it will never begin. No calendar is going to tell you when to live your life. The greatest loss is not from rejections and failures, but comes from what dies within us while we live.
Discovering your voice is rarely a linear path, but instead is the culmination of a lifelong process of observation, course correction, and risk-taking that eventually leads to the recognition of a valuable contribution.
You came to the earth with loads of inspiration and influence. Dare to offload them out of you before you die. Give out all you carry along into the world and when you are ready to go back, go empty handed!
So, do what lights you up! Day in, day out.
ENDS
Amazing as usual Suresh, more people need to read this with a conscious mind.
Anyone who doesn’t understand the deep meaning found in each line and between the lines, should read it again and again till they feel their heart is starting to beat again pumping life into their soul and body.
Thanks so much Suaad, appreciate always your encouragement & motivation
Mr Suaad Al Suwaidi your Comment is like icing on the cake ( Mr Suresh’s Blog ) ! 👏
Gives lot of Happiness to Read such emotions !
Excellent WINtrospection by you Suresh!
So true, that we tend to procrastinate and keep deferring for ‘tomorrow’, which more often does not come.
Great motivational piece. 👍 🙂
Jayesh
It’s the only truth I guess Suresh n it’s been so well written .
Thanks so much Reena
Top class stuff Suresh!
Thanks so much Praful
Absolute truth, well crafted for us to re think and act as much and as soon possible, Suresh you’ve touched the pulse of universe, Thank You
Thank you Dr Jadhav
Brilliant & Inspiring!
Suresh, your thoughts flow in a way that changes the thought process of the reader. Why couldn’t I think so. How come we all know it but never acted upon because we didn’t read about it.
Please continue to touch topics which after reading we will admit that it was at the back of my mind but never read it anywhere. Cheers
Thanks Naughty, we seem to miss the wood for the trees most of the time, isn’t it?
Thanks so much Jayesh
Vivir plenamente, is what the blog speaks about with clickbait title of Die Empty. All my thoughts too, but buried in fear to surface above the ground of Brown’s rich graveyard. Very nice Suresh.
We have limited todays and certainly very limited tomorrows. Ideas are aplenty but ideas without action are regrets, isn’t it Suresh, thanks for taking the time to engage & offer your thoughts.
Love the subject !
Thanks very much Aparna
Deep . Lots of introspection needed on the topic, most of us are running behind a mirage called success which takes a different form through different lenses. Great effort in decoding simple truths.
Absolutely Dilip. Thank you- The paying public’s silence is deafening, nothing short of a revolt is the need of the hour
Totally aligned with you Dilip. External validations seem to determine what our quest should be
Absolutely spot on! Your article was the final straw on the camel’s back and I feel motivated and have decided to go for it and “put in my papers” at my current job and am unafraid to move towards my dreams. Hopefully they will not remain dreams. Thank you Suresh.
Goodluck Margaret. Extremely glad that you are backing yourself and taken that leap of faith. All the best
Very well said, Suresh! The difference between those who live life on their own terms (or those who lead a richer life!) v/s those who don’t is neither the lack of ability nor the strength. It is the will – will in character & in action!!
Your note is indeed thought provoking, a timely “call to action”! Thank you!
Thanks very much Manoj. Absolutely, well articulated thought
Need this need this so much!!!
Yes SK, all the time indeed!
Inspiring , especially video which talk about creativity is in problem solving not about art, music only .
Thank you Hari