Memento mori Meaning
Remember to Live Life Fully
Unlike the Mexican tradition of "The Day of The Dead" where ancestors are honored with skulls, The Memento Mori tradition reminds the living to live life to the fullest. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, memento mori literally means "Remember you must die".
Steve Jobs was truly motivated and inspired... by death: “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
A human life is like a shooting star, and the key is how brightly you shine and how much light you leave in your wake. Memento Mori is Latin for "remember death", and has been used as a source of motivation and inspiration to fuel leaders, philosophers, artists, warriors, and others throughout history to make the most of their time on Earth and to really live life to the fullest...
“Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. … The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.” - Roman philosopher, Seneca
“Memento mori” is said to have originated during the Roman empire. Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote to himself: “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think” - focusing on death guided him on how to lead his life. Before the Roman empire, meditation on death was a common practice of ancient philosophers like Plato - and continues to be a form of inspiration for modern leaders today.
“There’s something coming for all of us. It’s called death. Rather than fearing it, it can become one of our greatest counselors. So, if this was the last week of your life, what would you cherish most? How would you live? How would you love? What truth would you tell today?” - Tony Robbins
In 2007 Damien Hirst created one of the more famous modern art examples of Memento Mori with his For The Love of God, featuring over 8,000 diamonds laid out on a human skull. The piece sold for a reported £50 million. |
In Buddhism, there is a meditative practice called "Maranasati", meaning “death awareness,” which is considered essential to better living. It is meant to bring awareness to the transitory and fleeting nature of life in the physical world, and to ponder the question of whether one is making the right use of their precious life on Earth. According to Buddha: “Of all the footprints, that of the elephant is supreme. Similarly, of all mindfulness meditation, that on death is supreme.”
The point of Memento Mori isn’t to make people despair, but to help them use the thought of death to focus on the real priorities of life. A rationale is that when the reality of death fades to the background of our consciousness, other joy-stealing problems are quick to rise up and fill the void. Therefore, to bring the eventuality of death into our forethought puts a different spin on our daily issues. The inevitability of death doesn’t make life pointless but instead purposeful, perhaps inspiring us to do more with each day, to focus on the life we truly want, and to remind us to treat our time as a gift and not waste it. Meditating on mortality may be a simple key to living well.
In earlier centuries, an educated European might place an actual skull on his desk to keep the idea of death always present in his mind. By keeping death "daily before one's eyes," one is reminded to make life better. While the physicality of a skull can still evoke a range of thoughts and feelings, those who have experienced the interaction with a crystal skull can attest to the expansion of consciousness and awareness. Whether employed for gathering insights or directed towards healing, the benefits of communing with a crystal skull can transform Memento Mori into a profound gift. Keeping a crystal skull on your desk can serve as a true inspiration for you to live your best life!
Years ago, I asked a New York City taxi driver if he was ever afraid to drive at night - he replied: "What good is fear? Die only once... don't die a little bit every day!" Memento Mori is meant to serve as a reminder that living in fear of death does not allow you to really live, and stops you from freely enjoying life because fear is a prison. The ultimate message of Memento Mori is to be at peace with your life at the end of each day...
Further reading: How Religious Orders Remember Death
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/memento-mori---how-religious-orders-remember-death-47908
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