Death has many meanings and interpretations in various cultures. I had read in my childhood about how death is a leveler. I think it was a poem in our English texts during school. Death the leveler. And it has stuck with me all these years. No matter how rich or poor you are, you die. You maybe a king or a farmer, a banker or a scientist, a politician or a common man it doesn't matter. In the eyes of death, everyone is the same. It does not cater to our social status, our religion or how good or bad we are. Death levels everyone. If you are alive today, one day you will die.
Sometimes we may think, that death makes life meaningless. What is the point of living if we all are one day going to fade away from this world one day. Such a spoiler! Just like a trial-version-game that lasts only 30 days. Shyyaaa!
However, if you think about it again, you may find something else. Death is in fact what truly gives life meaning. It is like a deadline for an assignment your teacher gives you. I have personally been an agent of procrastination numerous times during my college days. Always running, working at the eleventh hour. Finishing things just in time. During exams too that feeling of "Oh if only I had another hour or day or a week of time before this exam...." was very common. That feeling of if only I had studied better! I wonder how many of us live life in a such state of procrastination! On their death bed too that feeling of : "Oh if only I had another hour or day or week of time before I die..." must be common. :D :D
Very few people do what they want to now and in this very moment rather than leaving it for later years. And if there was no death, I think this number would have been even smaller. They would say "Why worry about now brother, we are immortal, remember?" People would have procrastinated for centuries (at least the lazy ones). Some people would be motivated to work for a lifetime. But I guess eventually they would feel exhausted and bored one day. To forever exist in this world with no end, what a bummer! Just like taking a roller coaster ride. At first you love the fact that you are getting another chance to take this ride. But after a few more rides you will be seriously bored.
Death is what gives time immense value. It is what makes moments with our loved ones, friends and this world so special and unique. But a part of it also paralyses us. It brings that fear and sadness that nothing can be taken for granted. Of never having enough. But on the other side, the very knowledge of death moves us. It shouts "Get up! Get moving! Get going!" The knowledge of death motivates us to live our life the way we want "now". It kills the demon of procrastination. It tells us to make the most of what we have right now, to enjoy, laugh, cry, fight, do whatever comes to your mind right away. No point in waiting for the stars to align, or the date or month of your lucky number to arrive to start something. Time is limited. Many people long to be remembered forever and leave behind a legacy, a line of royal properties and estates. But on your death bed, you will only look back at how you lived your life. How much you enjoyed this life. During that moment of death it won't matter what others think or say about you. You will be on the verge of losing the most precious ornament given to you by nature: your time here in this world. And you alone will be responsible for what you did with that time. No one else. After you die the world will move on. It should and always will. If you have many loved ones, they will mourn your death for a long time. If you were famous, they will remember you on your birth and death anniversaries. But more importantly the world will only look at what you did with your limited time here. How did you live your life and what decisions did you take.
Our limited time has also motivated us to pass on the torch of knowledge from generation to generation. So that the wheel need not be re-invented every time. So that the next generation may learn from our experiences and hopefully live a much better life. So that as a single human we may be nothing, but with the cumulative wisdom and knowledge of our ancestors we become an intelligent species. It may have begun as simple paintings in a cave, but now it has many forms.
Do not live with the fear of death, but with the knowledge of death.
Learn from the flaming torch of life, add something to it, pass it on.
Sometimes we may think, that death makes life meaningless. What is the point of living if we all are one day going to fade away from this world one day. Such a spoiler! Just like a trial-version-game that lasts only 30 days. Shyyaaa!
However, if you think about it again, you may find something else. Death is in fact what truly gives life meaning. It is like a deadline for an assignment your teacher gives you. I have personally been an agent of procrastination numerous times during my college days. Always running, working at the eleventh hour. Finishing things just in time. During exams too that feeling of "Oh if only I had another hour or day or a week of time before this exam...." was very common. That feeling of if only I had studied better! I wonder how many of us live life in a such state of procrastination! On their death bed too that feeling of : "Oh if only I had another hour or day or week of time before I die..." must be common. :D :D
Very few people do what they want to now and in this very moment rather than leaving it for later years. And if there was no death, I think this number would have been even smaller. They would say "Why worry about now brother, we are immortal, remember?" People would have procrastinated for centuries (at least the lazy ones). Some people would be motivated to work for a lifetime. But I guess eventually they would feel exhausted and bored one day. To forever exist in this world with no end, what a bummer! Just like taking a roller coaster ride. At first you love the fact that you are getting another chance to take this ride. But after a few more rides you will be seriously bored.
Death is what gives time immense value. It is what makes moments with our loved ones, friends and this world so special and unique. But a part of it also paralyses us. It brings that fear and sadness that nothing can be taken for granted. Of never having enough. But on the other side, the very knowledge of death moves us. It shouts "Get up! Get moving! Get going!" The knowledge of death motivates us to live our life the way we want "now". It kills the demon of procrastination. It tells us to make the most of what we have right now, to enjoy, laugh, cry, fight, do whatever comes to your mind right away. No point in waiting for the stars to align, or the date or month of your lucky number to arrive to start something. Time is limited. Many people long to be remembered forever and leave behind a legacy, a line of royal properties and estates. But on your death bed, you will only look back at how you lived your life. How much you enjoyed this life. During that moment of death it won't matter what others think or say about you. You will be on the verge of losing the most precious ornament given to you by nature: your time here in this world. And you alone will be responsible for what you did with that time. No one else. After you die the world will move on. It should and always will. If you have many loved ones, they will mourn your death for a long time. If you were famous, they will remember you on your birth and death anniversaries. But more importantly the world will only look at what you did with your limited time here. How did you live your life and what decisions did you take.
Our limited time has also motivated us to pass on the torch of knowledge from generation to generation. So that the wheel need not be re-invented every time. So that the next generation may learn from our experiences and hopefully live a much better life. So that as a single human we may be nothing, but with the cumulative wisdom and knowledge of our ancestors we become an intelligent species. It may have begun as simple paintings in a cave, but now it has many forms.
Do not live with the fear of death, but with the knowledge of death.
Learn from the flaming torch of life, add something to it, pass it on.
