You could leave life right now.
How mortality commands right action.
I just wanted to start off with a massive shout out to you, the reader. To everyone who has read my newsletter, once or all thirty seven times so far. Your support has been immense and I cannot thank you enough.
Since starting in March last year I said that if I this was able to help even just one person I would be happy. This has somehow translated into over 3700 views1 across all mediums and 53 subscribers which is absolutely outrageous. Again thank you so much for the support and messages. It means everything to me.
If you haven’t already done so, feel free to subscribe to receive it directly. It’s greatly appreciated but there is no hard feelings if you don’t.
📝: I was fortunate enough to spend some time at the Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi, Thailand. A Buddhist temple set at the base of a mountain with a viewpoint just over 300m up from the ground, and you had to climb 1260 (some very steep) steps to reach it.
On a very hot day, which may have been better served at a beach, my partner and I decided that this ascension would be a great idea. Many others thought the same, as the trek was busy.
Half way up the climb, we stopped by an older guy (I think in his late 50s) who seemed to be taking sometime to recover from the exertion.
I offered him some iced water (thanks to an insulated bottle compared to the warm plastic ones everyone brought) which he was very grateful for.
Soon after he said something very profound.
He said that merely five days before the climb, he was deemed clinically dead following what I’m guessing was a cardiac arrest. His heart stopped pumping, and he stopped breathing right on the operating table.
Only five days before our conversation he was given a second chance at life, and rather than spending even a few weeks to recover he decided that life is far too short to not get out and get after it.
He even said it himself:
life is too short to be doing nothing.
Completely remarkable and absolutely profound.
Having reflected on this experience I believe that although the message is excellent, the application lacks the depth it deserves.
It’s important to appreciate the idea that life really is too short. But what is even more important is that you shouldn’t wait for a cardiac arrest to put this into practice.
Do everything as if you were a dying man — because you are one - Seneca
The stoic proverb ‘Memento Mori’ translates to ‘Remember your death’. The stoic used it as a reminder that wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, your action should be inline with the idea that life is finite.
We all know that we are not immortal, but when our actions don’t align with this belief the contradiction carries terrible consequences.
We are all just waiting for a terminal diagnosis to finally begin to appreciate the gift that is life, that has been in our possession all of this time.
Do not wait.
Keep death at the forefront of your mind and the principle of your action.
I will repeat what he said again: life is too short to be doing nothing.
Consider that nothing might include anything and everything that is not exactly what you should be doing.
Don’t let your own inaction manifest as guilt. Don’t allow small issues to gain large ground.
Challenge your body. Pursue your passion. Show up for those who need you the most.
Because you don’t have time to do anything else.
You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do, and say, and think — Marcus Aurelius
Just Something To Consider.
It’s important to note that if you open it multiple times, it counts as multiple viewings. This is the only metric Substack really tracks so I’m running with it.