Memento Mori – On Facing Our Own Mortality
Memento mori is a reflection to remind us that everything will soon be over, so we live intensely today, doing everything we want without wasting any more time.
Memento Mori
When we live something perfect, amid that pleasant feeling of happiness, there is sometimes anguish: one day it will end. Yeah, everything comes to an end, even if the future is our death. So thinking about it can be sad, but it doesn’t need to be.
This is what the Latin expression “memento mori” proposes, which invites us to think about death in another way, in another context, and with another objective. Think about this: This day will never come back again.
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives is fully prepared to die at any time.”
— Mark Twain
Memento mori, in Latin, can be translated as “remember that you are going to die.” But, although it seems something sad, it is not quite like that: it is a reflection to remind us that everything will soon be over, so that we live today intensely, doing everything we want without wasting any more time.
If there was no tomorrow, what would you do right now? So why aren’t you doing it if there’s no certainty that there will be tomorrow?
Traditionally, thinking about death in our culture is a scary thing. It is often associated with pain, grief, and suffering, so we avoid even saying the word death. But when we think a lot about it, not about how we’re going to die, but about the fact that we’re going to die, that idea breaks down.
It’s like when we were at school, the teacher warned us about a challenging test with all the semester’s content. When we heard that, despair hit, didn’t it?
But day after day, it became less scary when we saw that we could take the test.
And this is life: as we mature and realize that we have everything we need to go in search of our dreams and desires, we naturalize the idea that things will come to an end because we focus only on enjoying today and the present moment.
The Ancient Origin of Memento Mori
It is unknown how this expression came about, but there are two better-known uses.
Monks confined in monasteries used, and in some places still do today, use the expression as a greeting to remind everyone that sins must be atoned for today, not tomorrow.
It is also said that when generals returned victorious to Rome, being greeted, an adviser followed behind them all the time, saying “Memento mori” to remind them that no glory is immortal and that we will all succumb. To the weight of time.
Other Reflections
You’ve thought about death. If you didn’t think about yours, you certainly thought about someone’s death, even if it was in a movie. Humans have always thought about death, the only certainty we have in life.
Emperor Marcus Aurelius, for example, wrote: “Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. Be good as long as you live as long as it is in your power.” Enjoy today and do what is possible now, not later, which may not even exist.
Another who thought a lot about death was the philosopher Seneca. He wrote: “We think death is a thing of the future, but part of it is already a thing of the past. So any time that has passed belongs to death.”
What an exquisite and profound idea, Yes?
Thinking that death is on our side now, not there in the distant future, can change how we see life. It’s like the arrival of great love: you don’t prepare to receive the person overnight; his entire life has brought him to this moment.
Memento Mori and “A Series of Unfortunate Events.”
Just as carpe diem is associated with the movie “The Society of Dead Poets,” memento mori has this connection with the “Serial Misfortune” book series.
That’s because memento mori is the motto of Prufrock Preparatory School, the gloomy high school where the protagonists, Violet and Klaus Baudelaire, attend.
Understanding and accepting our immortality, that is, that we can die at any time, is essential for us to have a healthier relationship with life and with our plans and dreams in a healthy and trauma-free way:
When we understand that death is a certainty and that it can happen anytime, doing what we want with body and soul becomes urgent, and we start prioritizing our dreams. Reflect on the end and assimilate this idea that it may be closer than you think, so how about rolling up your sleeves and going to do everything you want right now?
“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare the noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. ”
~ Chief Tecumseh
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