DIE SLOWLY - by Martha Medeiros

DIE SLOWLY by Martha Medeiros     He who becomes the slave of habit,     who follows the same routes every day,     who never changes pace,     who does not risk and change the color of his clothes,     who does not speak and does not experience,     dies slowly.     He or she who shuns passion,     who prefers black on white,     dotting ones i's rather than a bundle of emotions,  the kind that make your eyes glimmer,     that turn a yawn into a smile,     that make the heart pound  in the face of mistakes and  feelings,     dies slowly.     He or she who does not turn things topsy-turvy,     who is unhappy at work,     who does not risk certainty for uncertainty,     to thus follow a dream,     those who do not forego sound advice at least once  in their lives,     die slowly.     He who does not travel, who does not read,     who does not listen to music,     who does not find grace in himself,     she who does not find grace in herself,     dies slowly.     He who slowly destroys his own self-esteem,     who does not allow himself to be helped,     who spends days on end complaining  about his own bad luck,  about the rain that never stops,     dies slowly.     He or she who abandons a project before starting it,  who fails to ask questions on subjects he doesn't know,  he or she who doesn't reply when they are asked  something they do know,     dies slowly.     Let's try and avoid death in small doses,     reminding oneself that being alive requires  an effort far greater than the simple fact of breathing.     Only a burning patience will lead     to the attainment of a splendid happiness