Expectation of the Dawn

"We must learn to reawaken and keep ourselves awake...by an infinite expectation of the dawn, which does not forsake us in our soundest sleep." -Walden, Thoreau

Does there ever come a point in life when this requirement is no longer relevant? I don't believe so, because I feel that each life is a continuation of the lives that came before, our parents, and a legacy to those that come after, our children. We must live to anticipate each dawn in honor of the past and as a promise to our future, which does not cease at death.