Without death, life has no meaning. Just think of how different your outlook would be if you were immortal. Any sense of urgency would be completely eliminated, but beyond that there would a general absence of motivation. “Why do today what can be done tomorrow” becomes a profound question when the guarantee is of infinite tomorrows. This still doesn’t offer any objective explanation of what death is or isn’t, but it does acknowledge that the context of what life is or isn’t lies deeply couched in the knowledge that death ultimately comes to us all.
I’ve just completed a holiday weekend which was delightful in every respect. I luxuriated in the company of my wife, my daughters and their significant others (whom, I must add, become significant to me by association). Every moment of the experience was enhanced by a conscious awareness that it could be the last; the only guarantee is that I am going to die. I understand that this has the potential for a morbid preoccupation with imminent death, but the human ability to transcend such neurotic obsession truly contributes to what Albert Schweitzer referred to as a reverence for life.
I am not going to live forever, at least in this body on this planet. The more I grow in my acceptance of this fact, the more I appreciate what a precious thing life truly is. And if my appreciation is genuine, it becomes inclusive of how precious all life is. This ultimately leads to an unqualified love of life—all life—that results from understanding that death is the common denominator.
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