How would you spend it?
Most of us don't like to think about death. In Western culture we're encouraged to avoid thinking about it, to sweep it under the carpet, and that's unfortunate as it can be a hugely beneficial practice. Read any philosopher, saint or sage worth a lick of salt - they all talk about death with fanatical regularity. They're obsessed with death and meditate on it daily. But far from making them morbid or depressed or hopeless, it focuses their attention on the here and now. Helps them appreciate this fleeting moment. They find incredible joy, not sorrow, in the impermanence of all things.
So, let's say you discovered you had one more month to live. How would you spend it? Would you carry on as normal? Quit your job? Spend more time with family? Go on that holiday you always wanted? Indulge in a weeks-long, hedonistic feast of sex and drugs maybe? How would you feel? Depressed? Calm? A victim? You can't know with certainty how you'd react, of course, but think about it deeply, how do you feel you would react, how do you think you would spend those final days?
Most of us don't like to think about death. In Western culture we're encouraged to avoid thinking about it, to sweep it under the carpet, and that's unfortunate as it can be a hugely beneficial practice. Read any philosopher, saint or sage worth a lick of salt - they all talk about death with fanatical regularity. They're obsessed with death and meditate on it daily. But far from making them morbid or depressed or hopeless, it focuses their attention on the here and now. Helps them appreciate this fleeting moment. They find incredible joy, not sorrow, in the impermanence of all things.
So, let's say you discovered you had one more month to live. How would you spend it? Would you carry on as normal? Quit your job? Spend more time with family? Go on that holiday you always wanted? Indulge in a weeks-long, hedonistic feast of sex and drugs maybe? How would you feel? Depressed? Calm? A victim? You can't know with certainty how you'd react, of course, but think about it deeply, how do you feel you would react, how do you think you would spend those final days?
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