My dear,
The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in jumping and finding out you couldn’t fly. The tragedy lies in never jumping at all.
Who is the happier; the man who lept over the edge and reached for his dreams, or the man who stayed safely on the cliff looking beyond wondering “What if,” for eternity? Who is the happier; the woman who in leaping for her dreams eventually fell down to earth but in doing so tasted the sweet glory of flight for meer seconds, or the woman whose feet stayed planted firmly on the ground while she watched dozens of people jump over the cliff over and over again with the most ecstatic look on their faces?
The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach.
It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not disgrace to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for. Not failure, but low aim, is a sin.
Falsely yours,
Benjamin Elijah Mays
