To Honor Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Farewell Letter
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

When Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombia’s Nobel Laureate for literature, declared his retirement from public life because of ill-health, he sent a letter of farewell to friends and lovers of literature.

If God, for a second, forgot what I have become and granted me a little bit more of life, I would use it to the best of my ability.

I wouldn’t, possibly, say everything that is in my mind, but I would be more thoughtful of all I say.

I would give merit to things not for what they are worth, but for what they mean to express.

I would sleep little, I would dream more, because I know that for every minute that we close our eyes, we waste 60 seconds of light.

I would walk while others stop; I would awake while others sleep.

If God would give me a little bit more of life, I would dress in a simple manner, I would place myself in front of the sun, leaving not only my body, but my soul naked at its mercy.

To all men, I would say how mistaken they are when they think that they stop falling in love when they grow old, without knowing that they grow old when they stop falling in love.

I would give wings to children, but I would leave it to them to learn how to fly by themselves.

To old people I would say that death doesn’t arrive when they grow old, but with forgetfulness.

I have learned so much with you all, I have learned that everybody wants to live on top of the mountain, without knowing that true happiness is obtained in the journey taken & the form used to reach the top of the hill.

I have learned that when a newborn baby holds, with its little hand, his father’s finger, it has trapped him for the rest of his life.

I have learned that a man has the right and obligation to look down at another man, only when that man needs help to get up from the ground.

Say always what you feel, not what you think. If I knew that today is the last time that that I am going to see you asleep, I would hug you with all my strength and I would pray to the Lord to let me be the guardian angel of your soul.

If I knew that these are the last moments to see you, I would say “I love you.”

There is always tomorrow, and life gives us another opportunity to do things right, but in case I am wrong, and today is all that is left to me, I would love to tell you how much I love you & that I will never forget you.

Tomorrow is never guaranteed to anyone, young or old. Today could be the last time to see your loved ones, which is why you mustn’t wait; do it today, in case tomorrow never arrives. I am sure you will be sorry you wasted the opportunity today to give a smile, a hug, a kiss, and that you were too busy to grant them their last wish.

Keep your loved ones near you; tell them in their ears and to their faces how much you need them and love them. Love them and treat them well; take your time to tell them “I am sorry,” “forgive me, “please,” “thank you,” and all those loving words you know.

Nobody will know you for your secret thought. Ask the Lord for wisdom and strength to express them.

Show your friends and loved ones how important they are to you.

Send this letter to those you love. If you don’t do it today…tomorrow will be like yesterday, and if you never do it, it doesn’t matter either, the moment to do it is now.

For you, with much love,

Your Friend,
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Begin a Farewell letter that you will use as a benchmark for future life and writing. How might you render it with a surreal quality combining the improbable and impossible as real?

Follow the advice of Marquez concerning the journey taken and the form used to reach the top of the hill.

How to Leave it Behind

The Rider

A boy told me

if he roller-skated fast enough

his loneliness couldn't catch up to him,

the best reason I ever heard

for trying to be a champion.

What I wonder tonight

pedaling hard down King William Street

is if it translates to bicycles.

A victory! To leave your loneliness

panting behind you on some street corner

while you float free into a cloud of sudden azaleas,

pink petals that have never felt loneliness,

no matter how slowly they fell. - Naomi Shihab Nye 

Naomi Shihab Nye uses concrete imagery to present her ideas about how to leave loneliness behind. She ends the poem with an image of azaleas that lingers with the reader.

Use a concrete image to reveal ways to leave something behind. Sift through your petals of despair and longing.Let the tears shine to reflect a moment of renewal. 

Meanings of Love

This is the miracle that happens every time to those who really love the more they give, the more they possess.  

- Rainer Maria Rilke

From above, to a hawk, the bend must appear only natural and I for the moment inseparably a part, like salmon or a flower. I cannot say well enough how this single perception has dismantled my loneliness.  - Barry Lopez

Love in all its forms sparkles from the sight and sound of the word's magic and connection. 

A love of nature reveals ways of translating affection to individuals. 








When you offer assistance, nurture and show intensity of affection, it returns. As Barry Lopez writes, loneliness disappears. 

Love does conquer all when used to displace emotions of anger and dislike. The next time you feel irritated, launch a memory of what you love the most. Observe it with all your senses.

Write about what each letter represents.  How do you express your love in spiritual connections, to fellow humans, and to experience what provides pleasure in your life?

Motivate your love train today in writing. List your top Five Loves. Write to them.