Flowers at my dad’s niche – Georgia National Cemetery, Canton, GA
It’s Latin and it means to remember that you are going to die.
“Nothing in the world is permanent, and we’re foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we’re still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it.” ― W. Somerset Maugham
The old Pepperell Mill – Lindale, GA
In this life, nothing remains constant. Everything changes. Thoughts arise and they go away. People come into our lives and they leave from our lives. You can never put your hand into the same flowing river twice, for the second time the river will be different and so will you. Everything is impermanent, this table I am sitting at, this computer, this room, these thoughts, the flowers outside, this body I have, they are all going to be gone one day.
Grave at Historic Myrtle Hill Cemetery – Rome, GA
Knowing this doesn’t prevent me from making use of these things. It doesn’t stop me from enjoying these things. The fact is, I am able to make more use of them and love them more because I am aware that I won’t have them forever.
Remember that you are going to die
When I remember that I am going to die, it fuels me to pay attention more to the things that are going on around me. It helps me notice the little things that I normally take for granted when I am going through the motions asleep at the wheel. Lost in the news, the FB drama, twitter roasts, all while I am stepping ever closer to the grave.
Weeping Angel Statue and Myrtle Hill – Rome, GA
Things that won’t matter 100, 50, or even 20 years from now keep us fretting away, selling our time cheaply, wasting our days.
As Maugham said in the quote above, we are even more foolish if we know these things won’t last and don’t really take the time to enjoy them, delight in them, while we have them.
Tell those in your life that you love them more.
Take more pictures of them.
Enjoy the beauty of nature more.
Appreciate the health you have.
Slow down.
Do more of what you like and less of what you don’t.
Grab a camera (the best camera to use it the one you have with you)
