Pages

Labels

Memento Mori or Memento Vivere?

I recently read an email from The Daily Stoic that challenged my current mindset.

Currently, my focus is on longevity - doing everything I can to maximize the chances I will get to live as long and as healthy as possible.

As a result, I am trying to make my decisions for the long run.

This is necessary in order to choose kale instead of Pringles.

But it may have a weakness. If we take long life as a given, then we (I) can be tempted to defer items to later point.

So does this mean I should eat the Pringles, because who knows if I’ll be around tomorrow?

Honestly? Maybe.

The ‘memento mori’ mindset is not a new one. I hadn’t realized that there was a whole genre of artwork that has the nearness of death as a theme. “Vanitas” paintings had skulls somewhere in the background, along with elements like hour glasses for time and flowers for life.