“Death is a strange thing. People live their whole lives as if it does not exist, and yet it’s often one of the great motivations for the living. Some of us, in time, become so conscious of it that we live harder, more obstinately, with more fury. Some need its constant presence to even be aware of its antithesis. Others become so preoccupied with it that they go into the waiting room long before it has announced its arrival. We fear it, yet most of us fear more than anything that it may take someone other than ourselves. For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by. And leave us there alone.”
“We always think there’s enough time to do things with other people. Time to say things to them. And then something happens and then we stand there holding on to words like ‘if’.”
― Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove
The trouble is, we always think we have time, done we? It’s a lie we tell ourselves that allows us to put off doing the things that frighten us. It’s a lie that keeps us from living our most authentic life. It’s a lie that makes us weep with regret when we finally realize it’s too late. Because sometimes it really is too late.
i just read this book this weekend, as I needed a diversion. But, like many good novels, it also prompted me to think. A book didn’t have to be non-fiction in order to teach you something. I also discovered that there is a movie based on the novel, and I definitely want to see it soon.
Everything in this life is linked. Everything.
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