Memento MoriYou’ve probably heard that ancient Stoic philoso..
Added 2025-03-11 06:18:52 +0000 UTCMemento Mori
You’ve probably heard that ancient Stoic philosophers placed a lot of emphasis on death in their teachings. The Latin phrase "Memento Mori" literally means "remember about death". They believed that embracing the inevitability of death could help us live more fully and savor each moment we have.
For me, though, it’s often been quite the opposite. When the awareness of death sneaks in, it tends to cast a shadow over everything. In those moments, all my actions feel meaningless, because a century from now, nothing of my life will be left behind.
So why did they believe that keeping death in mind makes life better, rather than dragging us down? Is it possible that if I were to remember death constantly - not just in those rare, melancholic spells - this awareness might actually bring me some kind of strange comfort instead of sorrow?
Otherwise, what’s the difference? Where is the grain of truth that I might have missed - the one that shifts the glass from half-empty to half-full? I consider myself an optimist, and most of the time, I do see the glass as half-full. But when it comes to death, everything just feels tragic. Perhaps it’s because my thoughts immediately go to my parents. And, of course, thinking about my own mortality is just as frightening.
Maybe, at the heart of it, there’s something in this acceptance that I’ve yet to fully grasp - a perspective that turns the fear of death into something that enhances life instead.
