Memento Mori 1-3
"Literally, “Remember Death,” examines our fraught relationship with the certainty of our own passing. Throughout history, every culture has established a framework in which to understand this inevitability; except in our “forever young/don’t talk about it” contemporary culture, where denial of death is paramount. After the maze of life, and in the face of death, images of the “Vanitas”— skulls, sputtering candles and the Bible—all point to the fact that no one here gets out alive.
My examination of this theme was inspired by my fears around the current COVID-19 crisis. My historical research revealed that throughout history “Memento Mori”, or “Remember Death” is a tradition in almost every culture from the Icelandic Vikings, through Europe and the Black Death and early Christianity, through ancient Greece and the stoics, through the Middle East and Islam, South Asia and Hinduism, through Asia and Buddhism/Zen Buddhism, and through Mesoamerica and the Day of the Dead.
“Remember, we all must die”. . . is a timeless mantra that helps me feel both gratitude, and a keen taste for being alive. By meditating on the simple fact that we all will die, we can feel more fully alive. To paraphrase the Sufi poet, Rumi; it is the potters kiln that allows the cup to hold wine. More prosaically, “Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."
My examination of this theme was inspired by my fears around the current COVID-19 crisis. My historical research revealed that throughout history “Memento Mori”, or “Remember Death” is a tradition in almost every culture from the Icelandic Vikings, through Europe and the Black Death and early Christianity, through ancient Greece and the stoics, through the Middle East and Islam, South Asia and Hinduism, through Asia and Buddhism/Zen Buddhism, and through Mesoamerica and the Day of the Dead.
“Remember, we all must die”. . . is a timeless mantra that helps me feel both gratitude, and a keen taste for being alive. By meditating on the simple fact that we all will die, we can feel more fully alive. To paraphrase the Sufi poet, Rumi; it is the potters kiln that allows the cup to hold wine. More prosaically, “Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."
