With this knowledge, we can live our lives with the awareness that each moment is individual, unique and never to be repeated and start to treat life with the reverence and passion that it deserves.
This is why the two, in conjunction, create an approach to life that rides the perfect middle way, avoiding both despondency and delusion.ĭespite the endless distractions of Western civilisation, an awareness of death seems to keep us focused on what is important, it prevents us from being dragged into the frivolous and allowing our true selves to become servants to the desires and will of others.
Equally, by focusing excessively on death we can become depressed and nihilistic, feeling that existence is meaningless or doomed. Without the reminder of its unavoidable endpoint, we could become complacent and frivolous in life, imagining that we have endless time to pursue our dreams and desires. That’s why sometimes memento mori has been used in conjunction with the phrase ‘memento vivere’ which translates as ‘remember to live’. Some have found this phrase sombre but really it’s a positive call to live. The awareness of our impermanence creates a burning desire to live fully now, not delaying experience and pleasure for an imagined future.
Throughout history, this phrase has served as a reminder of the fleeting nature of life. This pendant features a skeleton in his coffin, long thought to symbolize death, in actuality it is emblematic of life & truth. A Latin expression, which translates as ‘remember that you must die’. Many of us are familiar with the phrase ‘memento mori’.
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