Philosophy & Stoicism

Don’t Mind Me; I’m Only Dying Slowly

Whether this moment is promised or not, we will die

Photo by davide ragusa on Unsplash

“Let each thing you would do, say or intend be like that of a dying person.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.11.1

We’ve all heard statements — like below — and try to implement them at some point in our lives — even if only for a brief moment:

• “Live like it’s your last”
• “YOLO”
• “This moment is all that’s promised.”

Before we hear these statements, do we recall the inevitability of our demise? It’s coming for us all, whether we want to accept the fact or not. Even if we’re not taken by death at a shocking moment, we are taken at some point.

Death Is A Foreign Concept

But we forget that we are ticking death bombs once we are born. None of us know when our time will be up; we could leave this earth at any moment. But outside of this fact, we still are all dying slowly. So, why don’t we realize the phenomenon of our delicate life sentences? We remember how short our lives can be when we hear one of these statements, experience an eye-opening event like a terminal illness or death close to home (close friend or family member). Death remains a…