Memento Mori
“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”
- Marcus Aurelius
Today was an interesting day at the CBC, just as I was thinking about making this post, two of our members decided to come up with their own Mortality related posts, you can find one of them here, the other one is still on the making.
What is Memento Mori?
The quick answer is: Memento Mori is Latin for “Remember death” or “Remember that you will die.” which seems like a pretty brutal and unnecessary reminder, but it really is a useful one when understood correctly. For if we have our own mortality present at all times we will hardly waste our time, it will help us make better decisions and live a more virtuous life.
And plenty of religions seems to agree with this, this concept is present, with small variations, in christian religion, in Buddhism, in Japanese Zen...
I came to learn about this practice while reading on Stoic philosophy, and decided to pick it up, to analyze any important decision I need to take considering it may very well be the last thing I do on earth. I can say it has helped me set my priorities straight and avoid some bad decisions, it helped me take the difficult road and be honest with those around me instead of telling them what they want to hear.
Thinking about death helps you get a real sense of priority, most things we do are almost meaningless in the grand scheme of things; in the face of death you can easily identify what's really important, what matters the most to you.
And since death is the only thing that's certain for all of us, it is best if we learn to find in it a source of inspiration, a counselor, instead of being terrified by it.
So take a brief moment and reflect upon your life. Would you be okay with the way you have lived, with what you have accomplished, if you were to leave life right now? If not, wouldn't it be better to change your habits right now?
I hope you found this practice interesting and would be awesome if it helped you at any point in your life.
Before you go on to our premium section, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine who has just joined Coil, he's studying to be a chef and will be posting recipes from the Mexican cuisine among other things. You can find his posts here.
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