"To Laugh Often" by Susan Lenz features a quotation by Ralph Waldo Emerson that sums up Susan's feelings on life.

Thinking about time, memory, and how you want to define yourself to the generations that will never know you, Susan decided to adorn, and name, her quilt, To Laugh Often, after a quote she adores by Ralph Waldo Emerson. While many people think that Susan and her quilts are all about death, due to her featuring grave rubbings in much of her work, she really loves life and felt the Emerson quote really spoke to it. Since she couldn't find the quote on any gravestone for a rubbing, she rubbed letter by letter, from tombstone to tombstone, the entire quote on a big piece of silk using a black crayon.

The full quote reads, "To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

Click Here to learn more about Susan's quilt, "To Laugh Often", from her website.

Main Quilt Photo by Gregory Case