11, 200
A few years ago I came across the concept of "Memento Mori." Memento Mori is Latin for "remember that you die," and in simple terms is the practice of meditating on death. It is a practice that has roots in many cultures across history, from the early Stoic philosophers in Greece and Rome to early Judaism, and it carries on to modern life.
In his Meditations, Marcus Aurelius wrote that “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.” That was a personal reminder to continue living a life of virtue NOW, and not wait.
Steve Jobs said in his famous 2005 Stanford commencement address "Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose."
In Psalm 90, Moses prays that God would teach his people "to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom."
With that in mind, a couple years ago I downloaded a countdown app on my phone, and after meditating on it, I set the end date to August 31st, 2052. That would be my 70th birthday. I know this might sound a little morbid to you, and obviously I don't know if I'll just live to 70- I might live for many years after that... But I might also not even make it to 50—I don't know, nobody does.
The point was that, to me, meditating on an abstract concept of death sounded less powerful than having a clear number of days I have left.
So here I am today, December 31st, 2021 and I look at my phone and my countdown says 11,201, which means at the start of 2022 I will have exactly 11,200 days left.
Is that too many? Is that enough? I don't know the answer, but I do know that if I was thinking about dollars, $11,200 is... Ok. I have a decent amount, but I’m not rich by any means. I can't be wasting money if $11,200 is ALL I have.
If I knew that $11,200 is all I will ever have I know I would be careful with what I do with each one of those dollars.
So why don’t think the same way about every day I have left?
As we finish this 2021, a year that for many of us wasn’t easy and it didn’t go according to plan, I want to write this reminder, for myself and for you who are reading this, to make every day count.
Live life in a way that no matter what age you die, 50 or 99, people think that you went away too soon.
Happy 2022, everybody!
