Mortality is embedded firmly in our lives, we
are all born with expiration dates, in fact, a finite life is the essence of
human existence. Yet perhaps at certain points of a certain healthy, thriving
life, it is the most denied eventuality.
Humans have the gift of being aware of
their mortality, the fact that they someday will return to dust, and one would
think that would guide our time here on earth but in few instances does this
arise. Yes, adages have dictated, “Live everyday like it were your last” or
even “Carpe diem” which hint at the obvious but how often do we actually think
about our own mortality?
But this is the thing, we live like we have
all the time in the world to accomplish everything we have planned, find the
perfect partner, the most coveted house, the ideal job, else defer happiness if
we have a crappy job for we can always work hard now in throes of unhappiness
and cash in on it in the future. Is the fact that we refuse to acknowledge our
mortality, an indication of us being over optimistic about our life spans or
just denial — a coping mechanism? Perhaps a bit of both.
There are times when we are reminded of how fragile we are. The death of loved ones serves as this reminder. It makes us realise how helpless we truly are at the hands of the universe. We hold on to grudges, inflate our egos at the cost of others, seek redemption, justice, when wronged, often over things that may seem trivial when viewed, juxtaposed with death. I can understand where the defence mechanism comes from—where we are deluded to believe the perpetual continuity of our lives and those of others. And it makes sense; we need to protect ourselves, for constant reminder of impending doom may not make for very spirited lives. Nonetheless, if we could channelize only a part of this realisation to make ourselves better humans— forgiving, kinder, less judgmental and follow our passion and dreams during the finite time we have, perhaps the acknowledgment of our mortality could be the biggest gift we could give ourselves.
There are times when we are reminded of how fragile we are. The death of loved ones serves as this reminder. It makes us realise how helpless we truly are at the hands of the universe. We hold on to grudges, inflate our egos at the cost of others, seek redemption, justice, when wronged, often over things that may seem trivial when viewed, juxtaposed with death. I can understand where the defence mechanism comes from—where we are deluded to believe the perpetual continuity of our lives and those of others. And it makes sense; we need to protect ourselves, for constant reminder of impending doom may not make for very spirited lives. Nonetheless, if we could channelize only a part of this realisation to make ourselves better humans— forgiving, kinder, less judgmental and follow our passion and dreams during the finite time we have, perhaps the acknowledgment of our mortality could be the biggest gift we could give ourselves.
