Not in the morbid, “is it my time” way.  But more in the “where is my life going and what have I done with the time I’ve had” way.

That’s not always a welcome idea in our culture.  Death.  We spend much of our time trying to avoid that thought, trying to avoid the effects of age, and trying to convince ourselves we’re still young – that we’re not going to die.

We are.  We will all die eventually.  We’re not going to escape it.  That’s the nature of living.

Pain.  Guilt.  Death.  Frankl called it the “Tragic Triad” of human existence.  That which none of us can escape.  Other Existential psychologist, like Dr. Irv Yalom in Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the Terror of Death, would tell you our avoidance of thinking about death is what leads, in no small part, to many neuroses of our time.

However, by accepting this Tragic Triad as reality, we can also have a sense of “Tragic Optimism” – that we can turn this suffering into accomplishment or achievement, and we can discover meaning in it.

Unfortunately, there is no easy way to distill it in a simple blog post – perhaps that is the nature of our existence.  Thankfully, it’s a little more than a few hundred words.  Frankly himself commits nearly 100 pages to “On the Meaning of Life” in The Doctor and the Soul – and that’s only one book, there’s quite a bit more in his other volumes.  

Of course, his theories are only one frame of reference.  The more I study, the more I notice how prominent death is in what I read.  Of course, maybe that has something to do with what I am reading these days…

This is a time in the Christian calendar that looks a lot at death – as well as salvation.  In medieval times, people would practice the art and meditation of “Memento Mori” – or “Remember Death” as a means of considering the vanity of earthly life and the transient nature of all earthly goods and pursuits. 

Tibetan Monks will wear yak bone “malas” – prayer beads – carved into skulls to remind them of the transience of life and to celebrate the sacredness of life; to recognize the more we contemplate death the more fruitful our life becomes.

Death is a prolific topic in ancient philosophical and spiritual texts.  Dr. Jordan Peterson’s latest book, 12 Rules for Life: an antidote to chaos, scours some of those texts for ideas on how to live today – it’s a pretty thick read, but well worth it.

As I sit here writing this, trying to be wise yet brief on a topic that really isn’t all that brief, I look around and notice I should Memento Mori.  There is a dog calling for my attention, papers that need to be graded, a daughter who would like to talk to me about something amazing she has experienced, friends who want to meet for dinner…  There is life to be lived.

So to summarize what appears to be a long line of disparate thoughts – in remembering death, that we only have a short amount of time here, we should live each moment as fully as possible.  

Memento Mori, my friends.  And, if you’re interested in continuation the conversation, come check out what we have brewing over at The Meaning Project.  – Dan