Remember This Ends

     Memento Mori, the meditation on the temporariness of life and the inevitability of death, was a practice encouraged by many philosophers and thinkers throughout history. Commonly attributed to the stoics, the practice, despite its name, was not intended to be morbid or depressing. It was intended to be humbling and give a sense of beauty and value to existence that otherwise would not be appreciated if you weren't aware of how fleeting it is. 

     "Death is the great leveler," as the old saying goes. It spares no one, rich or poor, powerful or powerless, beautiful or ugly, strong or weak. It can strike anyone and at any time without reason or explanation. This fact puts us all on the same playing field when it comes to the ultimate fate of all life. 

    The utility of reminding yourself of this comes in the fact that acknowledging that you are of the same fate as all others makes you appreciate your blessings more and empathize with those in more unfortunate positions than yourself. You realize you can lose it all in a moment. It forces us to contend with the ultimate and most universal of equalities; the equality of mortality. It is an equality wealth, power, race, gender, or status cannot evade, change or deprive. Mortality is the most important of equalities, and the one that is never going to change. 

        A rational mind knows that this will all end one day, but not everyone's rational. Meditating on the inevitability of the end of life is something that can be unpleasant, but it knocks us off of our high horses and superiority complexes quicker than any other cognitive activity. Truly realizing how temporary this is and how "you can't take it with you" when you cross that finish line should, in most reasonable people at least, breed a healthy level of empathy and humility.

 It doesn't matter how good your business deal was, how much your bank account is worth, how many women or men you've slept with, how fast your car is, how smart your honor student child is...you will still die. You will never escape this. What this should do is make you realize what matters most...how you treat people. 

       For me, realizing this inevitability has a two-fold effect. On one end, it helps me appreciate how good I have it and how my blessings have unfolded so far. On the other end it makes me grateful for the fact that I will not be bound to a world like this-one with so much hate, lies, prejudice, wickedness, and darkness-forever. The disappointments are temporary.  So is the stupidity and blindness of the world.  This two-fold approach to memento mori, for me, leads me to try to live the best life I can and enjoy what blessings I have to the fullest....and treat people the best I can...because I am aware of how temporary it all is. 

 It can end in a heartbeat. The blessings won't last forever which makes me try to savor them as much as possible....and the curses won't last forever, which brings me great joy knowing I won't be under their yoke indefinitely. 

It doesn't matter what color you are, what your last name is, how good looking you are, how successful you may be, or how much of a failure you have been. At some point, your body's gonna run cold and stiff. Remembering this might actually help you realize what's important...and it may help you treat people better and live a more noble life, which is truly what's important. 

That's what the stoics saw in "memento mori." The value of life, appreciation, and compassion that reminding yourself of life's inevitable end brought you. It's a humbling thing if done right, and its a healthy thing to be humbled every once in a while.