Why Embracing Death Impacts Every Area of Your Life
No one gets out of life alive. It’s the one thing that is consistent for all human beings. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, rich or poor, man or woman: we all die.
Yet, death remains a taboo topic in polite society. As if not discussing it will make it less real. A lot of us prefer not to talk – or even think about – dying. We know it will come one day, we just refuse to acknowledge it.
For many of us, death represents the finish line. The end of the life that we’ve slowly built throughout our borrowed time.
But what makes us fear death so much is the uncertainty. What lies on the other end? Is there a life after death? Does your journey truly end when you die? As no one has yet come back from death, these questions remain unanswered.
Countless people have attempted to cheat death throughout history but to no avail. This speaks strongly of humanity’s desire for immortality and aversion to dying.
But embracing death and your own mortality not only helps you prepare for it. It impacts every aspect of your life. Here are six reasons why you should embrace death.
It Helps You Find Your “Why”
What’s your purpose? Why do you think you were born? For what or whom do you wake up every single day?
If you don’t know the answer to these questions, then you haven’t found your why.
A life without purpose isn’t living at all. You’re just existing. It’s like letting yourself float in an endless sea with no destination in sight.
But when you embrace your own mortality, you’ll be reminded of the importance of life and how to make the most of it. Then you start thinking about your place in this world and the reason for your existence.
When you figure out your purpose, then life is so much more worth living.
It Puts Things Into Perspective
Accepting that life isn’t infinite helps put things into perspective. You stop worrying about inconsequential things. Rather, you start to focus on what’s really important. Suddenly, you’ll realize how much time you’ve wasted chasing after things that don’t even make you happy.
The moment you realize what really matters is the day you become ever truly happy.
You Learn to Live for Others
Embracing your mortality makes you think less of yourself and more on how you can be of service to others. In short, you learn to live for others.
In this jaded world, some of us learned the hard way that we should only look out for ourselves as no one else will do it. We do things for our own benefit, nevermind the harm it can cause to others. It’s always about “me” and never about “them”.
But embracing death helps us get over our fear of it which is a very liberating experience. This freedom helps us to lower down our shields more easily and build meaningful relationships.
It Gives a Whole New Meaning to Life
If you know you’re dying tomorrow, surely you wouldn’t want to waste your remaining hours doing insignificant things. You’d want to spend it on the things that matter to you.
This acknowledgment of our fleeting existence helps us appreciate life better. It gives a whole new meaning to living.
You Start Working on Your Legacy
Most of us want to be remembered even after we’ve died. We want our memory and our story to be passed on to the next generation. Because without a legacy, there won’t be any proof that we ever existed. We’ll be like flecks of dust, here now and gone the next without anyone noticing. And when you accept that you won’t be here forever you start working on your legacy. (Related: Living Forever: Is It Possible?)
There are various ways for you to leave a lasting legacy. You can write a book, plant a tree or do heroic acts like when you donate your body to science. With body donation, you’ll be helping medical professionals transform the future of medicine. And that is a legacy that your children and grandchildren would definitely be proud of.
About The Author
Judy Ponio is a firm believer in the power of knowledge when it comes to whole body donation and she wants to share her experience with the world. She also loves to write about food and art.
