Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on May 9, 2002.
We shouldn't dwell on death, yet it should never leave our minds. Being aware of the harsh reality that we can go at any time, should urge us to live our lives fully and meaningfully. It is hard to find the right Path for ourselves, but once we find it, like Aikido, do not leave it but pursue it whole-heartedly with all of our body and spirit. We think that we have all the time in the world, but, in reality, we do not. In the years that we are allotted, there is not that much time to do very much!
Nowadays, I see on the news that so many young people are doing stupid, wasteful things and throwing their lives away. We should not dwell on stupid or unnecessary matters and try to see our lives very clearly. Be practical and realistic and pursue your goals without reserve. Don't bounce around from here to there, back and forth. We may think that we are getting everything we can, but we will find out that we have nothing doing it this way. We may think that our lives are our own and we can do anything we please with it, but this is a silly view as well. We are all connected. At the same time, we fulfill our dreams, we should not cause sadness and grief to others around us. We do this without knowing, this is why we must be so careful in what we do and how we think. Of course, there is nothing we can do when our lives come to an end, but yet many people will be sad.