Living Life to Death
In fact, if you're reading this article, bravo. We live in a death-denying culture , where we don't like to talk or think about death. It makes us feel uneasy. We don't even like the word "die. But what if, by ignoring our mortality, we're doing ourselves a giant disservice? What if mindfully thinking about our own inevitable death — our finite existence, our impermanence — were healthy for living a good life?
Imagine if you knew you were immortal. You'd live for eternity. All the time in the world. Would you feel desired to experience, accomplish, and connect? Knowing that there really is always tomorrow, we might not feel the same desire to "do it while [we're] young" or work toward a health or career goal. Knowing our time here is finite motivates us to truly live our lives. Thinking of the precarious nature of life lends us some perspective. When we're reminded of our mortality, we're not so concerned about that spat with our spouse, our love handles, or a cracked iPhone screen.
5 Things Death Can Teach Us About Living Life To The Fullest | Thought Catalog
The "little things" stay little. If today were the last day of your life, you might react differently to rush-hour traffic or your "boring" job. You might find yourself savoring or at least not hating moments that were previously uncomfortable. Thinking about death helps us negotiate our death anxiety and feel more prepared for our exit from this earth.
Anxiety arises when we think about dying. But the more we think about something, the less frightening it becomes. There are many different beliefs about what happens when we stop breathing. Whether you believe in an afterlife, eternal sleep, reincarnation, nothingness, no self and thus no death, or something else, just let those thoughts enter into your awareness. It took us all by surprise.
We were just assimilating his recent cancer diagnosis. Losing a friend hurts deeply. When I miss him, I feel sad, but it also reminds me to celebrate life. He deserves we pay respects to his early departure. Instead of trying to hold onto life forever, embrace its ephemerality. What if we see life as a preparation for dying? When death knocks your door, be ready to leave.
Western civilizations fear death. In our material world, life has become a possession too. And we cannot let go of it. Interestingly enough, when someone dies, even the most religious folks feel sad. We hold onto life as a material property, thus blinding our spiritual beliefs. But you manage how. Come to terms with death. When we fear death, we stop living. We like to feel invincible or immortal for that matter. It takes guts to confront this vulnerable truth: We avoid thinking about death, yet we fear it in silence.
Try this exercise I learned from Bernie Roth at Stanford. Answer one question at a time. Imagine you have 10 min to live, what would you do? And the rest of your life? Every time I facilitate this exercise in a workshop, it catches everyone off-guard. We take time for granted. You can be vinegar or you can be wine, but you will poured regardless. You can be dumped out and wasted in the cracks on the sidewalk, or you can be poured into goblets and drunk by others, for others.
The choice is yours. Do not despise the Hand that tips you. Do not begrudge the mouths that drink you dry. You follow the Man who shed His blood like wine for you. It made me want to grab life around the middle and squeeze, but not forever. I will let go. My life for yours, every day, until I have nothing left, and then I will let go one last time.
View all 6 comments. Aug 25, Stephen Altrogge rated it it was ok. I know I'm going to get crucified by the Wilson fanboys for rating this book so low, but it just didn't live up to the hype. Don't get me wrong, ND Wilson is a great, creative writer. But honestly, it felt like the book tried too hard to be creative.
There were many points where the creativity seemed to actually hide the point he was trying to make. I struggled to take away one main point from this book. I sort of feel like I should pull a George Costanza and say, "It's not you, it's me," to thi I know I'm going to get crucified by the Wilson fanboys for rating this book so low, but it just didn't live up to the hype. I sort of feel like I should pull a George Costanza and say, "It's not you, it's me," to this book.
Maybe the problem is me. Maybe I'm way too dense. I just wish the book could have been a tad more linear and knit together. I really wish I could rate this book higher. I tried to like it, I really did. But in the end it didn't do it for me. View all 9 comments. March — Listened to a long stretch of another book today before deciding it just wasn't good Sabbath soul food.
So I scrolled through ye olde iPod for something better suited and settled on a sixth trip through Death by Living. Settled not as in settled for something less , but as in settled in. For a few days I'd been vaguely out of sorts; as usual, DBL sorted me out. This yea March — Listened to a long stretch of another book today before deciding it just wasn't good Sabbath soul food. This year it's gratitude. So an early re-consuming of Death by Living was in order: It's read by the author, which is always the best way.
When I finished it last night, I was still working on a project, so I scrolled through the audiobook listing on my iPod in search of another listen. I came across a small stash of biographical lectures by John Piper and clicked on the first one before I even took time to note the tite: He laid down his life over and over and over again in nearly forty years of missionary work in Burma.
Most of the stories in Death by Living aren't quite so harrowing as decades of torture, repeat widowhood, and the loss of eight children to disease in a preindustrial pagan country, but the idea is the same: Whatever life you're called to, live gratefully, live sacrificially, or you're really not living at all. Being a living sacrifice isn't usually a one-off event; it's a day-by-day, minute-by-minute pouring out of life.
It's death by living. I woke up this morning with a renewed eagerness to receive every circumstance with thanksgiving and to get much, much better at loving my neighbor. Gotta love a book that inspires that. Thanks again for the kick in the pants, Nate! A few weeks ago, I entered Jim Wilson's house for the first time. I was taken aback to be taken back in time at the sight of the carpet. It was the exact same stuff my mom had installed in our house in Baltimore and which I'd had the great pleasure of ripping out about fifteen years ago.
How long has that been here?
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And his grandson delivered the answer: Yep, sounds about right. Jan 18, Becky Pliego rated it it was amazing Shelves: An invitation impossible to turn down to live a purposely, fully, and grateful life -and be excited to live it facing the finish line. Read it again, and again I laughed and cried with this book in Started it the same day that N. Wilson had to go into surgery to have a brain tumor removed. Seemed the right time and the right thing to do. I am grateful I did. And I am grateful he has given more days to write more pages-. Apr 11, Douglas Wilson rated it it was amazing.
Got to read the galleys, having already read the rough manuscript. May 04, Brandon Miller rated it it was amazing Shelves: Five star ratings are for books that changed my life. Books that will never be forgotten, by me or anyone who is silly enough to ask me what my favorite books are.
This book got five stars. I don't know where to start or where to end. This book made me conscious of ever passing second and it slipped by into eternity, but didn't overwhelm me with a sense of insufficiency. It reminded me that I'm not in control of my life, and that I don't have to be because Christ is.
It encouraged me to enjoy the Five star ratings are for books that changed my life. It encouraged me to enjoy the journey, and the people who journey with me. It convinced me that maybe big international vacations are best done once children know how not to throw up in a moving vehicle. I'm sorry for all of Rome. This book is encouraging and fun and wonderful and will always have a place on my shelf, if it isn't in my palm. Nathan nasceu para escrever e morrer. Nov 23, Valerie Kyriosity rated it it was amazing.
Wilson mentions early in this book his childhood penchant for hitting his sisters.
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I don't think he's quite grown out of the habit, because Death by Living delivers slug in the arm after slap in the face after sock in the jaw. And dang it all if he doesn't almost make it fun. Look at how joyful and glorious it is when you do! I posted several quotes on my blog. Here's another one from pp.
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When faced with unpleasantness t N. When faced with unpleasantness trouble there are only two ultimate responses with many variations. On the one hand, "The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord. Variations on the former can include laughter, song, retellings, and an energetic attack of obstacles. If God gives you or makes you a joke, what are you meant to do in response? If God gives you an obstacle, what are you meant to do in response? If God gives you more profound hardship, what are you meant to do in response? On page 73, he asks what kind of character you'd like to be in the grand and wonderful story we're all bound to contribute to.
I thought of one character I dread being, but too often am: Mary Musgrove from Persuasion. This book made my inner Mary Musgrove laugh, not by silly, distracting antics, but by revealing the solid joys and lasting treasure at the foundation of all the obstacles and hardships of life. See, it turns out trouble's not a bug, it's a feature. I was quite surprised to find myself convinced [zing! But I won't give that away: Death by Living made a lazy, lily-livered lout like me want to dig deeper, work harder, die jollier, and live thankfuller.
A welcome kick [boom! May 31, Sarah rated it it was amazing. I swallowed this one whole.
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I raced to read it, then re-read and re-read it again. It's the kind of book you hide under a pile of grammar books so no one will steal it away. It's the kind of book that makes you snarl at Sister Dear when she asks if you are finished yet. So Sorry, Jesse It's the kind of book that keeps you up late, trying to remember everything your grandparents ever told you about their stories.