To have lived well, laughed often, and loved much;

To have enjoyed the trust and respect of pure and intelligent women and men

and the love of little children;

To have filled your niche and accomplished your task;

To have never lacked appreciation of Earth's beauty or failed to express it;

To have left the world better than you found it,

Whether an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;

To have always looked for the best in others and given them the best in you;

To know that one life has breathed easier 
because you lived here.


To have led a life that was an inspiration;

To have your memory be a benediction.

This is to have succeeded.

​

Bessie Anderson Stanley