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Find What You Love, and Let It Kill You
On living authentically, greeting death like an old friend, and leaving a meaningful legacy.
Have you ever loved something so much, it hurts?
It could be a person, a place, an inanimate object, an activity — anything.
What do you do with it? Do you let it go so it stops hurting, thereby renouncing your love? Or do you hold on to it tightly and bear the pain?
Me? I chose the latter. Not because I’m a masochist (I don’t enjoy being hurt), but because some things are worth the pain.
Or, to go a step further: Some things are worth dying for — and if something is worth dying for, then it’s worth living for as well, isn’t it?
But I’m not here to romanticize mortality. Nor am I promoting suicidal behavior. There’s something important to be learned from the idea of a worthy death — you probably already know what it is, but I’m gonna put it into words for you anyway.
Let’s begin by reading a letter.
A False Message from Charles Bukowski
The title of this piece, “Find What You Love, and Let It Kill You,” is taken from a popular quote misattributed to Charles Bukowski, the renowned German-American…
