KEEP THE OLD WARM

“Death is not an evil. What is it then? The one law mankind has that is free of all discrimination.” – Marcus Aurelius

We will all die and it is fair. In life, many things are not fair and I do not need to list them out. But death will come for us all and we know not when.

Every person we hate, envy, mistrust, every person that causes us to lose sleep, patience, peace of mind, they will die just like us. So will the ones we love.

All things will pass.

So, knowing that all things will pass, how does that affect our actions now?

We might expect to die at 70, 80, 90 years old, but we could die tomorrow. Life is not given to us in full but can be taken away at any moment.

It is fair, it will happen, and there is nothing we can do to change it.

Contemplating our death, knowing it is both inevitable and fair for all people, allows us to see our mortality with clear eyes.

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius

We see the value of our lives through the eyes of our inevitable death. We see it for the gift is is, for now. For if it can be taken away in the next moment, it is therefore a gift, a privilege, to enjoy in the present moment. Each moment.

Death makes our lives worth living. For a deathless life would grow stale, hollow, meaningless, and cheap.

Arising in the morning, knowing death shall come. And when we are there to greet it, shall we wish to be ready and proud of the life we’ve lived, having appreciated each moment? Or shall we come ashamed, unprepared, and trembling before we pass through to the beyond as all have, and all will?

Will we accept our death, or cling to a life un-lived?