Nov 21, 2023·edited Nov 21, 2023Liked by Steve Skojec
Steve, thanks for this. I've been thinking a lot lately about mortality and the inevitability of death. My thoughts on it are more in line with Lana's. There's much to be said for a steady faithfulness to the duties of one's state of life, and striving to make everything one does, however small, beautiful and a work of love. That and being fully present to whatever one is doing or whoever one is with. It makes every moment worthy of being the last. It would be a strange way to dance if one were only thinking of finishing, or to listen to a nice piece of music if one merely thought of its conclusion.
As I said to Lana below, though, I think it's not a stretch at all to say that if you knew you were going to die tomorrow, today's schedule would be cleared of tedium and minutiae.
The point you both are making - that tedium and minutiae can be handled with great love and intentionality - is a good one. It's the middle road between the extremes.
Hi Steve, For once I tend to disagree with you… you say, “ Nobody can actually live like it’s their last day on earth every day. They’d never get anything done. You’d never buy groceries, or take the dog to the groomers, or get your oil changed, or check the mail. None of that stuff would really matter if you were just squeezing every last drop out of life.” I think we can live as if it is our last day if we truly keep what (I think) is important in perspective. I am reminded of the famous quote from Saint Teresa of Calcutta: “In this life, we cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” So you may not be able to spend all day with every person you love every day until you die. You may not be able to complete your bucket list or climb Mount Everest…we DO have responsibilities. But if we live each day authentically and sincerely with true love and true joy, I think one can say they have lived life to the fullest. To me, that means we lift people up, we tell those we love, with deep sincerity, every time we have the chance that we love them and when we go to the grocery store, we treat the cashier and those we pass with respect and kindness, and then we do the same when go to get the oil changed. Give someone a smile and a compliment each day. Do it… do it EVERY DAY. If I can do that, then if I die tomorrow, hopefully I will be remembered fondly not for what I did but for who I am. Thanks as always for your thought provoking posts.
I don't want to discount the point you're making, but I'll stand by my assessment, because I know that most people, if they knew they were going to die tomorrow, wouldn't spend their day re-designing the sales page on their website, or figuring out which plugin they need to use to deliver a lead magnet, or doing the shopping at three different stores.
When we know we're out of time, we spend it differently.
I do think we can probably live better, more intentional lives, but that was the point of the quote at the end. Finding that balance, living that dance.
Great post Steve. Heidegger reminded us that (paraphrased) "a man begins to die as soon as he is born." Death played a significant role in his early philosophy. He said death was the one event that belongs to a person alone. No matter how interconnected the world is, no one can die your death for you.
Steve, thanks for this. I've been thinking a lot lately about mortality and the inevitability of death. My thoughts on it are more in line with Lana's. There's much to be said for a steady faithfulness to the duties of one's state of life, and striving to make everything one does, however small, beautiful and a work of love. That and being fully present to whatever one is doing or whoever one is with. It makes every moment worthy of being the last. It would be a strange way to dance if one were only thinking of finishing, or to listen to a nice piece of music if one merely thought of its conclusion.
As I said to Lana below, though, I think it's not a stretch at all to say that if you knew you were going to die tomorrow, today's schedule would be cleared of tedium and minutiae.
The point you both are making - that tedium and minutiae can be handled with great love and intentionality - is a good one. It's the middle road between the extremes.
Hi Steve, For once I tend to disagree with you… you say, “ Nobody can actually live like it’s their last day on earth every day. They’d never get anything done. You’d never buy groceries, or take the dog to the groomers, or get your oil changed, or check the mail. None of that stuff would really matter if you were just squeezing every last drop out of life.” I think we can live as if it is our last day if we truly keep what (I think) is important in perspective. I am reminded of the famous quote from Saint Teresa of Calcutta: “In this life, we cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” So you may not be able to spend all day with every person you love every day until you die. You may not be able to complete your bucket list or climb Mount Everest…we DO have responsibilities. But if we live each day authentically and sincerely with true love and true joy, I think one can say they have lived life to the fullest. To me, that means we lift people up, we tell those we love, with deep sincerity, every time we have the chance that we love them and when we go to the grocery store, we treat the cashier and those we pass with respect and kindness, and then we do the same when go to get the oil changed. Give someone a smile and a compliment each day. Do it… do it EVERY DAY. If I can do that, then if I die tomorrow, hopefully I will be remembered fondly not for what I did but for who I am. Thanks as always for your thought provoking posts.
I don't want to discount the point you're making, but I'll stand by my assessment, because I know that most people, if they knew they were going to die tomorrow, wouldn't spend their day re-designing the sales page on their website, or figuring out which plugin they need to use to deliver a lead magnet, or doing the shopping at three different stores.
When we know we're out of time, we spend it differently.
I do think we can probably live better, more intentional lives, but that was the point of the quote at the end. Finding that balance, living that dance.
Great post Steve. Heidegger reminded us that (paraphrased) "a man begins to die as soon as he is born." Death played a significant role in his early philosophy. He said death was the one event that belongs to a person alone. No matter how interconnected the world is, no one can die your death for you.