“A warrior performs distinguished military feats on the battleground and earns the highest honor only after having accepted the fact that he is gong to die.”
- – Taira Shigesuke in Bushido Shoshinshu
The warrior’s thoughts on and preparedness for death are not morbid, but rather freeing. The simple truth of our existence is that if you were born, you will die. This will happen. When we consider death, we can then live to the fullest and leave this life without regret.
This is important, and something I speak and write about often. We need to contemplate death and become liberated from the fear of it, and accept that it is part of the natural life cycle for all of us. Although it is a harsh reality to face, everyone we care about will die. And so will we. The uncertainty is when. When we truly understand this, and not just intellectually, but actually “feel” it, we can life a more full life. We realize the little things are not that important, but then again, they are. Confusing? Not really when you think about it.
Is it worth being upset and spending some of the precious time you have, not knowing just how much time you have left, on some of the little things that many become upset about? When you understand you will die and you don’t know how much time you have left, do you really want to spend those precious moments doing negative things and feeling bad or upset over little things that don’t really matter? You see, little things are not that important. As the saying goes, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.”
On the other hand, when we know we are going to die, and “feel” it, every little thing matters. We take the time to say “I love you” to those that matter. We enjoy the little things that life has to offer. We don’t take anything for granted.
Rather than write more today, I want to share two songs that capture the importance of this. The first is If Today Was Your Last Day by Nickelback, and the second in the country hit Live Like You Were Dying by Tim McGraw. I really like both songs and hope you’ll enjoy them too.
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