As long as we do not accept our mortality, we think that we have much time on earth, and we will get what we want in life when we want. We forget that time passes quickly; we forget that we have limited time on earth. As early, as we accept our mortality, we accept life and its unpredictability, and we see life through a clear lens. We strive to achieve more, we stick to our routines, and we use our time wisely. Accepting mortality frees us from the fear of death, we tend to live in the present and are prepared for the future while learning from past experiences. Life is short, we can die any moment, and we should be prepared for what comes our way, and it is only possible when we accept our mortality.
“IN THE FACE OF OUR INEVITABLE MORTALITY WE CAN DO ONE OF TWO THINGS. WE CAN ATTEMPT TO AVOID THE THOUGHT AT ALL COSTS, CLINGING TO THE ILLUSION THAT WE HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD. OR WE CAN CONFRONT THIS REALITY, ACCEPT AND EVEN EMBRACE IT, CONVERTING OUR CONSCIOUSNESS OF DEATH INTO SOMETHING POSITIVE AND ACTIVE. IN ADOPTING SUCH A FEARLESS PHILOSOPHY, WE GAIN A SENSE OF PROPORTION AND BECOME ABLE TO SEPARATE WHAT IS PETTY FROM WHAT IS TRULY IMPORTANT. KNOWING OUR DAYS TO BE NUMBERED, WE HAVE A SENSE OF URGENCY AND MISSION. WE CAN APPRECIATE LIFE ALL THE MORE FOR ITS IMPERMANENCE. IF WE CAN OVERCOME THE FEAR OF DEATH, THEN THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO FEAR.”
Kills fear of death:
As long as you deny death, it haunts you and chases you. The only way to expel the fear of death from your heart and mind is to accept the fact that I have limited time on earth, and I have to get the most out of each second. The thought of death scares us, and it cripples us and makes us weak in the face of tragedies and our enemies since we are in denial that we will live longer; we will not catch diseases; we will stay forever healthy and young, while we are drowned in our own fantasies, death has arrived, and we have no option, but to leave the world leaving nothing precious behind. Accepting mortality frees us from the pain inflicted upon us by death, we become cautious and concerned about our future, and we live each second wisely.
“The fearless approach requires that you accept the fact that you have only so much time to live, and that life itself inevitably involves levels of pain and separation.”
Attaining goals:
When we accept our mortality, we develop a sense of urgency and struggle to accomplish our goals. We get lazier and clumsy when we think that we have unlimited time, and we can postpone today’s work to tomorrow. We do delay our work because we do not accept death, and we lag behind in life. Accepting mortality gives us a direction to follow that leads to prosperity and happiness and fills our days with joys and blessings.
“If attaining certain goals becomes your greatest source of pleasure, then your days are filled with purpose and direction, and whenever death comes, you have no regrets.”
Makes you strong and self-reliant:
The greatest fear everyone has is the fear of death, and when you embrace death wholeheartedly and are prepared for it anytime, you become strong and self-reliant, and no force on earth can scare you. When we become strong emotionally, we become the center of attention, and people look up to us since we look calm in hard times and are able to overcome problems.
“You will be strong and self-reliant, unafraid to be alone. You will have a certain lightness that comes with knowing what matters—you can laugh at what others take so seriously. The pleasures of the moment are heightened because you know their impermanence and you make the most of them. And when your time to die comes, as it will someday, you will not cringe and cry for more time, because you have lived well and have no regrets.”
Expose yourself to new dangers:
Exposing yourself to things you are scared of makes you strong mentally and reminds you of your mortality. Once you face hard things, your fear of death flies into thin air, and you emerge stronger. Face what you are afraid of, and you will become less afraid of things. When you are not scared of death, you will live a life devoted to your goals, and when death arrives, you have no regrets since you have already achieved what you were after. You feel proud to have lived a meaningful life.
“There are two kinds of time we can experience—the banal and the sublime variety. Banal time is extremely limited in scope. It consists of the present moment and stretches out to a few weeks ahead of us, occasionally farther. Locked in banal time, we tend to distort events—we see things as being far more important than they are, unaware that in a few weeks or a year, what stirs us all up will not matter. The sublime variety is an intimation of the reality of the utter vastness of time and the constant changes that are going on. It requires that we lift our heads out of the moment and engage in the kinds of meditations that obsessed Kenkō. We imagine the future centuries from now or what was happening in this very spot millions of years ago. We become aware that everything is in a state of flux; nothing is permanent. “
The sense of awe:
When we accept our mortality, we live in the present and feel the beauty of life that helps us accept reality. Fantasies waste our time when we cannot change our fantasies into reality, we live in fantasies since we think we have limitless time on earth. When we accept our mortality, we observe our surroundings keenly. When we are in the present, we are less depressed and anxious about our future since we are prepared for it.
“This sense of awe can be elicited by something vast or strange— endless landscapes (the sea or the desert), monuments from the distant past (the pyramids of Egypt), the unfamiliar customs of people in a foreign land. It can also be sparked by things in everyday life—for instance, focusing on the dizzying variety of animal and plant life around us that took millions of years to evolve into its present form.”
Conclusion:
Accepting that we will die has a profound effect on our overall health including mental and physical, not just do our minds ease when we confront our mortality, but also our souls blossom with joy and happiness since we accept that our days are numbered and we should live each day with purpose and peace.
References
- Greene, R. (2010). The 50th law (Vol. 1). Profile Books.
- Greene, R. (2013). Mastery. Penguin.