British neurologist and best selling author Oliver Sacks passed away on August 30th at age 82. Here are some of his insights upon learning he had terminal cancer...
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"When people die, they cannot be replaced. They leave holes that cannot be filled, for it is the fate — the genetic and neural fate — of every human being to be a unique individual, to find his own path, to live his own life, to die his own death."
On being truly alive
"Over the last few days, I have been able to see my life as from a great altitude, as a sort of landscape, and with a deepening sense of the connection of all its parts. This does not mean I am finished with life. On the contrary, I feel intensely alive, and I want and hope in the time that remains to deepen my friendships, to say farewell to those I love, to write more, to travel if I have the strength, to achieve new levels of understanding and insight."
On love and gratitude
"I cannot pretend I am without fear. But my predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved; I have been given much and I have given something in return; I have read and traveled and thought and written. "
On living each moment
"It is up to me now to choose how to live out the months that remain to me. I have to live in the richest, deepest, most productive way I can."
On the joy of life
"Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure."
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Wishing you a most BEAUTIFUL day, wherever this may find you!
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