By Mo Yan
I happened to stumble on a story from history while on my phone one day—it was really inspiring for me, so I wanted to share it with others. The story goes like this: Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military commanders in history. He became very ill on his return journey from his victorious military campaign, and just as he was about to die, he shared his three last wishes with his generals. First, he wanted his physicians to carry his coffin back, and he wanted the road to the cemetery where his coffin was to be taken to be strewn with gold, silver, and precious stones. Lastly, he wanted both of his hands to be placed so they were outside of the coffin. Alexander explained that by doing so, he wished to impart three lessons upon the living. First, no matter how great a physician’s skill, they cannot save people’s lives; they cannot determine a person’s life and death. Second, it isn’t worth it to spend an entire life in the pursuit of wealth; it’s a waste of precious time. And finally, each one of us comes into this world empty-handed, and we will leave empty-handed. We can’t take a single thing with us.
