Memento Mori: Stop Wasting Time
"You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think." — Marcus Aurelius
Life is short. Remind yourself of this every day. For centuries, artists have depicted the Latin phrase "memento mori" as a skull or an hourglass, not to bring despair, but as a reminder to make the most of our brief lives. Memento mori, as translated in English, means, "Remember, you must die." The message is simple — we will all die. As the sands of an hourglass slip through, so does your life. There is no escaping that fact, but you can use memento mori to inspire and motivate you to focus on what is truly important.
The practice of memento mori can inspire meaningful change. It’s easy to lose yourself in daily distractions, forgetting to get everything you can out of your most valuable resource — TIME. Don’t waste it any longer. Make the most of your life today. How do you do this? The ancient Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrestled with this same question and wrote himself this advice:
"Concentrate every minute like a Roman — like a man — on doing what’s in front of you with precise and genuine seriousness, tenderly, willingly, with justice. And on freeing yourself from all other distractions. Yes, you can — if you do everything as if it were the last thing you were doing in your life, and stop being aimless, stop letting your emotions override what your mind tells you, stop being hypocritical, self-centered, irritable."
If you gave the present moment your best effort, how much would your life improve? What if you stopped worrying about what others think of you? Are you aimlessly wandering through each precious day? What is holding you back from living your best life?
Nothing is holding you back except the thoughts you choose to entertain and your actions. Don’t allow trivialities to bur under your skin and fester. Don’t allow your worries and fears to rob you of the here and now. Allow the concept of death to put your problems in their proper perspective.
As a daily practice, learn to meditate on death. It will provide the humility and invigoration you’ll need to live life to the fullest. It will bring you closer to living the life that you truly desire. Every second is precious. The only fear worth having is to waste time on unimportant things.
Weekly Challenge: Write a time each day this week that you will consciously practice memento mori.
Three Ideas For Daily Practice
- If you live in the US, the average life expectancy is roughly 79 years. Determine how many days or weeks you have left.
- Keep a daily introspection journal and rate yourself on how well you use your time each day.
- Pick up a book such as How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life by James S. Romme and study its pages. Highlight key passages and take meaningful notes.
Death creeps up on you in every passing moment. You don't know when you'll leave this life, so make the best of it. You only have one. Memento mori.
Recommended Reading:
How to Die: An Ancient Guide to the End of Life by James S. Romme - "It takes an entire lifetime to learn how to die," — Seneca
Meditations by Marcus Aurelius (Gregory Hayes Translation) - "Stop whatever you’re doing for a moment and ask yourself: Am I afraid of death because I won’t be able to do this anymore?" — Marcus Aurelius
Join our community of memento mori practitioners and choose to Waste No More Time.
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