There are not many guarantees in life. However, the one thing that is completely certain is that you are going to die, and so am I. For some, even reading that statement will be confronting. It’s odd, we all know it on a rational level and yet for many it remains a taboo subject, one to be spoken about in quiet whispers and with words that don’t begin with “D”. Dying, death and dead seem to instill more fear than passing, moving on, and checking out.
But why? We know from Shakespeare that:
“a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”
and therefore death by any other name will hurt as much (for those left behind). Yet society seems to struggle with the “D” words infinitely more than the euphemisms, which is a curiosity I continue to ponder. In our desire to obscure the wording of this certainty I wonder if we have subconsciously started trying to obscure the fact itself. That we, you, are going to die one day.
Many people that I care for in their last days, weeks, months of life tell me that now they know they are dying they wish they could go back and do things differently. I am often a little puzzled by this, because don’t we all know that we are dying? Of course the reason is time – time, and assumptions. We assume that we have all the time in the world – time to do things tomorrow, next week, sometime later. So we put off the things that are meaningful to us in favour of the things that take our attention.
So, why will embracing the concept of your own death help you live life to the fullest? It’s quite simple really. If you can come to terms with the fact that life is finite, that you won’t be here forever and that once you’re gone the amazingly beautiful circle of life will continue on without a pause, you will unlock your ability to truly “carpe diem”. As humans, when we take something for granted it is easy to pay less attention to it, to assume that it is always going to be there and therefore needs less thought and care. Once we discover that something won’t go on forever, we take a lot more interest in making sure that we use, whatever it is, wisely.
The ancient Roman saying:
“Memento Mori”
literally translates to “remember (that you have) to die”. For many, remembering this provides an opportunity to focus on the beautiful and positive things in life rather than dwell on the irrelevant and inconsequential. It offers people the chance to step back from the stressors and view life through a different lens, a lens that is enriched with meaning and purpose rather than distraction and busy-ness.
So I encourage you to think about this. Your time in this world is impermanent. It is also unpredictable and uncontrollable. If you had less time than you assume, would you make different choices? Do you know what is deeply meaningful to you and how to live a life that honours this? If the answer is no, don’t panic. Most people have no idea.
Removing the immortality cloak and embracing your own death unveils a clarity that you may not have experienced before. It’s an eye opening journey into your own world and one that will take you places you’ve not even imagined, yet.
So, with all that said, are you ready to “memento mori’?
