How Did You Die?Did you tackle that trouble that came your way With a resolute heart and cheerful? Or hide your face from the light of day With a craven soul and fearful? Oh, a trouble's a ton, or a trouble's an ounce, Or a trouble is what you make it. And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts, But only how did you take it? You are beaten to earth? Well, well what's that? Come up with a smiling face. It's nothing against you to fall down flat, But to lie there - that's disgrace. The harder you're thrown, why the higher you bounce; Be proud of your blackened eye! It isn't the fact that you're licked that counts; It's how did you fight and why? And though you be done to death, what then? If you battled the best you could; If you played your part in the world of men, Why the critic will call it good. Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce, And whether he's slow or spry, It isn't the fact that you're dead that counts, But only, how did you die? .Edmund Vance Cooke
About This Quote
“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the way a man's mind works when his body is broken.” - George Bernard Shaw I wish that I could take credit for this graphic, but unfortunately it is not mine. Someone else has stolen the idea and created it. My purpose in showing you this image is to convey an idea: sometimes we need to look at death in a different light, and often we do so at our own detriment. The song does not say or imply that people should go out and "die in a blaze of glory," or that we should "give up all hope," or to "live on" despite everything that has happened.
In the line "It's not the fact that you're dead that counts, but how did you die?" this artist is telling us that it doesn't matter how we got to where we are, what matters is how we get from here. Our basic purpose is to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, and if we do this for a long enough time, it will eventually make a difference in building a better world for the rest of humanity.
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