Last month, my husband’s mom died. She had been sick for a while, but it still felt sudden and unexpected. Her death had a way of making me think about life, about time, about relationships.

Then last Thursday night we were told that three runners on the Milligan University cross-country team had been hit by a drunk driver. One young man died, one is stable after emergency surgery, and our friend was treated and released. I was sad all weekend thinking about the mothers of these boys involved in this tragedy.

On a walk, I listened to the Brené Brown Unlocking Us podcast interview with Susan Cain about her book Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, which came out yesterday. The interview was insightful and interesting. At one point, Susan Cain mentioned the Stoic practice of memento mori. Memento mori is a Latin term meaning: remember you will die. This caused me to do a little googling to learn more about this practice.

We tend to think we have a lot of time, but really, we have no idea how much time we have.

When we start thinking about time, it suddenly becomes important. This is the purpose of the practice of memento mori.

Because we’re going to die.

This is the reality of life. Everyone who is born sooner or later dies.

Thinking about the fact that we are all going to die can be a tool to create priority and meaning. It can be a tool to create real perspective and urgency. To remind us to treat our time as a gift and not waste it.

Practicing the awareness of the reality of death can help us to live more purposeful lives.

It doesn’t matter who you are or how many things you have left to be done, any number of things could happen to us to cause our lives to be over. Today, tomorrow, or someday soon.

I read in an article, when googling Memento Mori, “The basic way to implement this principle is to use it as a reminder that guides your thinking. For example, if something small bothers you, and you know that it shouldn’t, you can tell yourself ‘Memento mori—this is too minor and temporary to be worth worrying about.’ Similarly, if you struggle to decide what you should spend your time doing, you can ask yourself ‘memento mori—what do I really want to spend my limited time on?’”.

Former Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius is quoted as having written, “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”

Another article said, “The Stoics used death as a sort of compass towards life, guiding them towards what really mattered to them. Stoic philosophers did not see death as a morbid idea to be avoided. It was an aspect of life to be accepted and used to appreciate each new day, remain grateful for the time we have, prioritize actions, and not waste time.”

We don’t know when our lives will end or when the life of someone we love will end, therefore we should be doing our best to live well. We should practice being present, paying attention, and enjoying the life we have been given.

Life is a gift!

“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” James 4:14 ESV

May we be found making the most of every opportunity, showing up with unconditional love, appreciating each day and each other!

We have more power than we realize, or often choose to tap into, the power of the Holy Spirit living in us helping us! May we believe in His power, ask for His help, and receive His love!

We have the power to choose what we think. We choose what we make circumstances and situations mean with our thinking. We choose what we think about other people which determines our relationships. Our thoughts create our feelings and from our feelings we take actions. Our actions give us the results of our lives. Let us be found thinking on Truth! Believing the best about ourselves and others! Believing what God says about us. Accepting His grace and goodness for each of us! Believing He is working all things out for our good and His glory even when it doesn’t make sense to us.

May we be found practicing thinking on God’s Truth, everyday! Focusing and refocusing when our mind wanders.

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” Philippians 4:8-9 MSG