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MEMENTO MORI — Remember that you will die
When I wrote “On How to deal with Adversity” I did not think I would have to face the death of my father a few days later. It was and is the most challenging time in my life, by far. Today, also because of what just happened, we’ll focus on death.
📚 One book recommendation
In the book When Breath Becomes Air, neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next, he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated.
It was touching to read how his view on happiness changed from external elements to the present moment, the closest family members.
If only everyone with cancer would face it with the same determination and joy-de-vivre, maybe we wouldn’t stigmatize death so much. I found it powerful, visceral, and emotional.
📜 One quote to inspire you
It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.
Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested.
-Seneca
⏳ One interesting article
Life is short by Paul Graham is one of the most impactful essays I’ve read.
The concept of finite life experiences is what I think about a lot: “If Christmas-as-magic lasts from, say ages 3 to 10, you only get to watch your child experience it eight times. And while it’s impossible to say what is a lot or a little of a continuous quantity like time, 8 is not a lot of something.”
Unfortunately, it can be applied to many situations and people in our lives. How old are your parents? How many times do you see them per year? Last year I often thought it might be the last time I did something with my father, so how much time do I want to spend with him?
