Thanks for sharing this experience from your past and for the foresight to write down or at least pay close enough attention to Myoshi's words so as to remember them, even if you didn't get the full impact of them until later.
I could almost picture him, hear his voice and see his wry smile as I read your story. He must have seen something in you that prompted him to share his insights on life and the details of the loss of his family. I'd say his words were not wasted for they are still having an impact on others, decades after he first spoke them to you.