This post’s title is a line from an aria (Dido’s lament) from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. The aria states, “When I am laid in earth, may my wrongs create no trouble in thy breast. Remember me, but ah, forget my fate.” This is one of my favorite arias to sing, but that’s a post for a different day.
The thought for today centers around my interpretation/understanding of this aria. As she is dying, the character (Dido) is lamenting about what people will say about her when she’s gone. And that’s the topic of this post. What is it that you hope people say about you when you are no longer on this earth? How do you want to be remembered? To be fair, I’ll start:
When I am laid in earth…I want people to talk about the passion I had for serving others whenever and however I was able. I want people to be able to list specific ways that I used my talents, gifts and skills to impact their lives, my communities and the world.
Your thoughts can be as long or as short as you want. But there’s a catch (of course!). After you write your statement, I challenge you to come up with some ways that you can make this imagined future your reality. As always, I encourage to share as much or as little as you’d like in the comments section.
Click here for a YouTube clip of one of my favorite recordings of Dido’s lament as sung by Jessye Norman.