Memento Mori

"Be mindful of dying"

common meaning;
"Remember you are mortal"

One of the books I'm presently reading, "Awakening at Mid-life" had a remarkable passage which stuck with me over the last several days. It said:

(In the Western culture) "We generally fail to appreciate that the boundary of death gives us a sense of purpose and meaning to our life. Too often, the awareness of death can cause us to live with a sense of hopelessness...

On the other hand, the awareness of death can push us to dance with life , to grab it with all the gusto we can. We can live every day in the moment, learn to love without hesitation, become aware of what is truly important to us, and experience ourselves as part of a great cosmic plan."
This idea that we fail to "appreciate the boundary of death" conveys more than our simply embracing each day and being grateful for it- it goes deeper than that. It reveals to me that no amount of energy or time should be spent feeling fretful, or worried about my own death, or the passing of those I love.


I feel that it's almost impossible for me to "appreciate the boundary of death", and yet- I KNOW deep in my heart that this is absolutely the healthiest way to view my own end. I WANT to feel this way- I want to value the finish line, but totally enjoy every moment of the race.

On second thought though...there are reasons why we don't enjoy some moments of the race. Some are painful, frightening, and confusing. There will be days when grief will walk closely with us. There will be times of deep loss, and those times should be respected with our tears and recognition of what can not be replaced. "Grief" is a love word, and in some ways- nothing measures our depth of love more accurately than death.

Sometimes we ourselves don't fully understand how much we loved until that person is gone.

Death is a companion to life, my future holds both, and I know it more now than I ever have. Love is in my future too...and it seems to me that love is the one thing that makes everything else worthwhile- it even gives me a sense of peace about the end...that I will arrive at my own finish line having loved with abandon, and knowing love was returned in kind.

As I end this post today- I want to finish with perhaps a better Latin phrase than the one I started with. The syntax might be wrong- but the right idea will be conveyed...

Memento Animatio
"Be mindful of living"

and

Memento Amororis
"Be mindful of loving"