Make yourself a favor and think about death

The thought of death is one of the best sources of motivation to treat your own life with a tremendous sense of meaningfulness.

I was about 10 years old. It was some early evening, I was sitting in the living room, watching TV. For some reason, I started thinking about death. I glanced up at the overhead light and that's when I realized a very unpleasant fact. I am going to die one day. I will die someday and I can’t avoid it. Every second, minute, hour moves me closer and closer to the moment when my existence will be extinguished forever.

I associate a comparison to a computer game in my mind with this moment. I played a lot of games as a little boy and the phrase "game over" was very familiar to me. However, when I woke up and realized I was going to die, I was surprised at how different it was from a computer game. When I die, no menu appears with the option to start over or load the last saved position. There is no escape from death, no better alternative, no game. When I die, I die, and that’s it.

I remember my eyes filling with tears and to this day I still have the blurry image of the ceiling light caused by the tears in my eyes. That disheartening feeling was very strong and even after two decades I remember the moment in great detail. I recall it very often because the realisation that we are going to die carries a considerable amount of paradox. Isn't it interesting that even today it can still surprise me in some way that my life will actually end? That even today it surprises me that no "load the last checkpoint" will come after death? Something deep within us sets the psyche in such a way that we ignore the reality of our own death. Let’s try it, do you know that you are going to die?

We know that people around us are dying. Virtually everyone has encountered death in their immediate surroundings. Grandparents, parents, acquaintances, or the TV news. Death is all around us. However, the logic of observing death implies that no matter how much death the observer has experienced, death could never touch him or her directly. Otherwise he or she would be dead and could not meditate on death. Rationally, however, even you know that one day you will die. But can we also understand it emotionally? Can we actually feel that we will die someday? Isn't it infinitely strange that this fact still manages to surprise us? What's more, it's as if somewhere deep down we believe that maybe ... maybe we are the exception. Everybody dies, but maybe I'm the one who doesn't have to die. I don't know how or why... but it feels that way. And that feeling of exception, we probably all have. Even those people around us who have died, are dying, and will die. They, too, have felt a little hope that maybe it doesn't affect them. And from their point of view, it is you who are not covered by the exception, of course.

Close your eyes and let this reality seep into your being. Let yourself be embraced and accepted by the thought "I am going to die". What feelings does this evoke in you? Fear? Sadness? Panic? It may sound strange, but over the years I have been reminding myself of my own death so that in turn, I can feel lightness, freedom and love.

We all have our human problems. We've broken up with a partner, we're not doing well at work, maybe we've been fired, maybe we're stuck in traffic or have a toothache. A plethora of smaller and bigger problems. I have my little, nagging problems too. My YouTube video hasn't had enough views. I failed an experiment at work and will probably end up with my PhD without a degree. To a certain point, I try to work through the problems, find a solution, and come to a successful conclusion. However, life tends to be ... too much. Too many problems, too many question marks, too many uncontrollable factors. It's in those moments that I remind myself of the liberating phrase, "Someday I will die."

All problems in this context must necessarily reveal their true, non-existent nature. No problem, indeed, no problem can eclipse the fact that I will die someday. Does the number of views on my video really matter if I know that I will die someday? Why does the traffic jam, spilled coffee, noisy neighbor, or excrement on my shoe matter if I know I'm going to die someday? What do these problems look like compared to the end of my own existence? They become trivial. The thought of the expiration of our life is like a pin piercing the bubble of the illusory problems of everyday life.

In addition to the pin, death is also a compass that helps us become more aware of where to go with life. We languish on roads and paths we don't really want to walk. So, for example, why spend your time in a job you don't enjoy? Just a reminder, in case you forgot - you're going to die someday. Every day you get closer to death and you spend your days doing something you don't enjoy.

Isn't that absurd? Close your eyes and think about it. What do you feel? Is it possible that besides the sheer absurdity, you also feel the energy to do something about it?

The thought of death is one of the best sources of motivation to treat your own life with a tremendous sense of meaningfulness. In the shadow of death, it's almost impossible to make a decision that doesn't align with our deepest desires and motivations. In this sense, death gives us the best gift - to live meaningfully.

It's really that simple - think of death and think of it often. One day you will die.

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