Chuck Palahniuk said it best in Fight Club, “In the Sylvia Plath sense of the word, we are all dying.”
Because we are.
The moment you burst from your mother’s womb, slick with placenta, blood, and mucus, screaming and pink, your clock is tick, tick, ticking.
We’re all dying.
Every minute of every day.
But, some of us are already dead on our feet. Or, rather, on our couched asses.
Supposing you live to 80, will you be on your deathbed, surrounded by friends, spouse, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, exclaiming,
“Boy, I sure wish I could’ve played a few hundred more rounds of League of Legends.”
Or, “I should’ve rewatched The Office a 14th time…”
Even, “Damn. I would’ve loved to have slept in every day until noon.”
No.
No you won’t.
You’ll be happy with them, looking back and wishing you wouldn’t’ve wasted weeks or months of your breathing, living life on things like this.
You’ll probably be somewhat sourly wishing you would’ve put the games and TV shows down and went for more walks with your spouse.
Spent more time reading and writing.
Woke up earlier to enjoy a sunrise more often.
So, yes:
It turns out I’m going to die.
You too.
You and your friend Charles.
You and your spouse John.
You and your child, Samantha.
We are all going to be either six feet under, putrefying in a pine box or burnt away into ashes to be occasionally glanced at on the fireplace mantle…
Someday.
But you aren’t dead, today.
So act like it.
Focus a bit on Eudaimonia:
Physical Wellness.
Spiritual Wellness.
Relationship Wellness.
Financial Wellness.
Make each individual day a good one…
And do so by making it meaningful.
Follow for daily philosophical meditations.
These are distillations from my coming book “YouDaimonia: the Ancient Philosophy of Human Flourishing.”