30. Memento Mori

‘Remember you must die’.

I think this is a helpful phrase because it bursts our, often cosy, lifestyle and grounds us in the inevitable fact of death. As human beings, we have a beginning as well as an end. Just because we don't know when that's going to be doesn’t mean we should forget it will happen- yet that is what we can find ourselves doing.

Similarly, I think sometimes we believe we are limitless and that we will go on indefinitely as Gods of some sort. I think it's due to this hyper-inflated ego that we get these days through status, social media, and a consumerist mindset.

Ultimately, our bodies are decaying at the end of the day and one day we will die. It can be viewed as quite sad but I think it is actually a very helpful thing. Personally, I do find that it shapes how I live my days. Me knowing that I could die right now- it makes me live each day with intention, it makes me live in gratitude, it makes me do the things I want to do now rather than in ‘5 years’.

It's enabling me to be grateful for the now and just grateful for all that has happened for me. I recognise the reality of death as a real thing. Therefore also allowing me to feel more at peace with it. Additionally, I do also have faith as well, which I personally believe alleviates a lot of the fear of dying.

Either way regardless of your belief system; having death as a reminder to be more intentional is so important.

We go about just living recklessly doing whatever we want thinking we have all the time in the world. And then one day, we're struck down by the cold truth of how that isn’t the case.

This wake-up call of death can often mean being hospitalised, losing someone close to us, or simply learning it in old age. But the earlier you learn the fact that you are futile and limited, the more you can make use of the time you have.

So I remind myself ‘Memento Mori’ ; that I could leave life right now. I go about my day as intentional as I can with attempts of being virtuous.

I currently am trying to do the things that I say I want to achieve as soon as possible. We put dreams on hold too often and live with the regret of unfilled potential. My aim is to avoid that.

Time is limited. It’s the most important yet most limited resource we have. So being constantly aware of its value allows you to treat it a certain way instead of using it in irresponsible fleeting moments.

So yeah, it's definitely an important lesson to take in this ego-centric world.

Be grateful, recognise how small you are, and be intentional- ‘Memento Mori’.