There is a quote by Robert Louis Stevenson that always stayed with me ever since I first heard it:
“The man is a success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much; who has gained the respect of intelligent men and the love of children; who has filled his niche and accomplished his task; who leaves the world better than he found it, whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem or a rescued soul; who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty or failed to impress it; who looked for the best in others and gave the best he had.”
Stevenson was one of those rare men who put his money where his mouth was — he truly did leave the world a better place than he found it. He wrote several novels that went on to become great classics, including Treasure Island and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Suffering ill-health, in his final years Stevenson moved to the Pacific, spending his last years alive in Hawaii and Samoa. He befriended Kalākaua, the final King of Hawaii. The photo above shows the two men sitting on Stevenson’s porch together. During these years, the Scottish-born writer also became interested in the case for preserving the traditional cultures of Polynesia amidst ever-encroaching colonialism and westernization.
The air of Hawaii kept the ailing writer alive just a little longer than he otherwise might have. Pristine beaches, clean sands, beautiful scenery. He walked the beaches, swam in the water, went fishing, sailing, surfing and participated in various tribal rituals with great enthusiasm unheard of amongst most men of his day and age. He came to love those lands, the nature, the smell of the ocean, the sound of its waves, crushing down on the coastline. Like so many before him, he found inspiration salvation in strange and beautiful lands, appreciating them even more with the knowledge that he would not live to enjoy them for very long.
Robert Louis Stevenson died in 1894, aged only 44. But he made great and productive use of what little time he was given on God’s green earth. He befriended a King, defended the survival of rich and vibrant cultures and wrote legendary novels.
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