In honor of Día de Muertos, an invitation to confront the fear of our own death.
In honor of Or more precisely, the fear of missing out on the most meaningful aspects of our lives. Not being there when loved ones need us, never chasing a crazy passion, or failing to fulfill those ‘before I kick the bucket’ dreams.
To consider what fears we may have about our own death is to confront our values.
What would I regret?
It’s a pretty tall order to live our everyday lives in harmony with our values. It takes self-understanding, intentionality, and then discipline and hard decisions to counter the non-stop pressure to mindlessly wake up, work, eat, sleep, repeat.
Most bucket list hopes are never achieved. Why? Because the very act of calling it a bucket list suggests that I have years and years ahead to get around to those things that I (often nonchalantly) suggest matter to me.
To face my fear of my inevitable and unpredictable death, I must face the meaning of my everyday life.
Perhaps: Throw out the grandiose bucket list, and simply do / start / be that which is important to you.
Right now in this everyday moment that is begging you to move on to the next email, make one more meaningless work call, or mindlessly eat dinner.
Make meaning.