A good day to die...

...is the day that is a good day to be alive.

I realize the title sounds rather morbid. However, it is one of the most positive things that one can say if one comes from certain parts of Africa.

If today is a good day to be alive, if all your hearts desires are satiated and all your physical needs are met, than you are content.

If you have lived, have experienced new things, tried and failed, tried again, have loved and lost, been bruised and battered, than today is good day for you. You have the scars and the memories of life. More importantly, if you have a clear mind, contentment in your sleep and believe, like I do on many days, that should you depart for the heavens today, you shall do it happy.

If you have given joy to even one person, fed even one stomach other than yours, you have felt the happiness of compassion. If you have no regrets, because in failure there is ultimate success, than you have learnt the lesson well.

If you can smile, when everyone is not, if you can sing because it is raining and dance because it is snowing, than you have felt the bounty of nature; it is often mistaken for its harshness. It is merely the seasons, the ebb and flow of flora and fauna which we are blessed to have experienced.

So, if you can wake up tomorrow and say to yourself “today is good day to die”, it is because you have lived. They, who fear death, as the African warriors of old will tell you, fear it for the life they have not yet lived to the fullest. Those who have, who can hold their heads high and look back in peace, do not fear leaving.

If today is a good day to die, it is probably a fantastic day to be alive. It shall only come once.