The Richter Scale^®

When I get into deep philosophical discussions with friends about the meaning of life, I typically try to explain that my goal in life is to leave the world a better place than when I entered it. But outside of explaining that both my actions and the way I am raising my children to be good people are the means to this end, I have struggled to put the overall concept into a succinct set of words.

Last night in my hotel room I found decorative words, part of a poem or small essay, etched into a framed brush glass surface, attributed to American essayist, philosopher, and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. Reading these words left me completely speechless and stunned for a while, because they so well described my life’s philosophy.

There is some speculation that perhaps he didn’t write these, and that they (or a variation) were perhaps written by Bessie Stanley in 1905.

Whoever wrote them, they still speak to me:

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived;
This is to have succeeded.

Wow. There you have it.