Dying -- and Living -- Well

A study analyzing thousands of obituaries found one word recurring more often by far than any others. That word was "help." Yes, when a measure is taken of a life well-lived, it is the role we played in helping others that counts for more than anything when the final story is told. Of course, that help can come in the form of a discovery, or raising awareness, or working for greater freedom, but it is in helping something larger than one's self that makes for what people remember. If one is to live knowing that, one might shift a priority or two, if dying well matters in the end.*

* From TED talk https://www.npr.org/2018/09/07/645360945/lux-narayan-what-do-obituaries-teach-us-about-lives-well-lived