Death is the most marvelous thing. The finite nature of our existence, the fact that at some point, whether far or near, we are going to die can be the most useful orienting feature in life. Death is half of what it means to be alive. Life and joy are only half of what it means to exist. Pain suffering and death are the other half and both of them together are what it means to have a rich life.
If you live your life sequestering death into a corner of your mind that you don’t think about, then life and joy will not hold the same richness that they would if you were to acknowledge that death and pain and suffering are an equally important part of life, of what it means to exist.
Over the last two years, I’ve made the fact that I’m going to leave this earth eventually, that I’m going to die, a much bigger part of my decision-making and I have never felt more confident in my decisions than I do now.
I encourage you to think about how you view death. Do you see it as something that you don’t want to think about? Something that when it happens to someone near to you it completely shocks you? Or, do you see it as truly the other half of the circle of what it means to exist; life and joy, suffering and death, both equal parts of what it means to actually live a good life.
