I don’t mean to be morbid, but have you ever thought about what you’d want written on your headstone when you’re buried? It’s actually a rather revealing exercise, to try and come up with the few words you’d want to describe your life after you die.  Some people simply opt for their name and the years of their life—nothing more.  But others give it serious—or not so serious—thought, years in advance of the occasion of their death.

A few of the more famous—and humorous—gravestones include:

A man from Florida, who wrote, “If you’re reading this, you desperately need a hobby.”

A pastor from Tennessee, whose stone says, “While he lived he was alive.”

A gunfighter from the wild west, whose epitaph reads, “He never killed a man that did not need killing.”

And a man from Key West, whose gravestone records his words, “I told you I was sick.”

Over the next couple of days, I’ll note what a few of the more historically significant gravestones have to say about the person buried beneath them.  The point is not so much to think about dying as it is to think about living.  After all, whether we’re 5 years old or 105 years old, and whether intentionally or not, we’re writing our epitaph each day.  But if we don’t give it any thought while we’re alive, our gravestone might as well say “He died as he lived: by accident.”  

Have a wonderful day.