Living today like you die tomorrow.

[SFCLUB]

It's an old idea. Maybe overlooked today because it's been thought about a lot already. What do you think?

It was a very real (i.e. pragmatic) understanding back in the day when we fought animals, climate, environment, etc.. for survival. But in today's world, how much of our survival is a day-by-day decision? Our survival is much more long-term, I think - we can sustain ourselves for a month until rent is due, or our canned food runs out, etc... but it's definitely not as short term as daily consequence was during hunter/gatherer.

So how do we apply "living today like you die tomorrow"? I think, in an emotional way. To put things in perspective. It helps us realize what is important. It helps us understand what we should and shouldn't be worried about.

What do you think?

[Beanybag]

A few things I don't like about the idea. One is that it's a sort of hopelessness masquerading as positive thinking. Yes, we're going to die. Yes, that day might even be tomorrow. Why should we pretend like it is, though? It's not likely to be. The other thing is that it seems to be pretty defeatist towards long-term planning, i.e. "Well, I might die tomorrow, so why bother going to college or attempting this project - I need to live for today!" I think it's important to be realistic about death and to be ready for death at any moment. I think the more apt way of looking at this is to say 'If I were to die tomorrow, would I be satisfied, would I have any regrets?' So long as you were striving for your goals, being genuine to people, and really doing everything you wanted in life, death shouldn't be a disappointment nor a fear.

Generally, thinking about death makes us pretty uncomfortable though. I cant' say I've really found an approach to death that I can emotionally deal with, but I am grateful that I will die some day. I have a sort of excitement towards it, as well as mixed confusion and apprehension. It's this barrier to understanding, death is something we can't know anything about, but which we will all have to undergo. We want to know what it's like, but to truly know what it's like is to lose everything and know nothing. I'm upset that I won't be able to study it as I experience it, and understand it.

[Lethe]

yea basically I'm not a huge fan of the saying for the reasons Beany mentioned.

I would prefer YOLO to that but even YOLO results in people doing stupid things so I dunno

[Apostate]

Usually about once a week or so I'll think to myself, "What if I just got hit by a car right now and that was it?"


At first I laugh and think about how tragic it would be that when things are looking so promising for the rest of my life that that would happen, but then I realize that I feel no sadness or fear. I truly live according to my inner God, and have no regrets at this point in my life. I'd like to die in a moment like this, full of joy at the prospects of life and enjoying the fruit of my own choices, held in respect and esteem by my peers and loved ones. I'm ready to die with a smile on my face at any moment.


Now, if I knew I was going to die in a week, I think I'd probably do a few things differently but not much. Take the week off school and work and spend it with those that I love, visit my mother and tell her it's alright. But that isn't to say that I'm not living my life the way that I want to, because I am.


"If you work at that which is before you, following right reason seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract you, but keeping your divine part pure, as if you were bound to give it back immediately; if you hold to this, expecting nothing, but satisfied to live now according to nature, speaking heroic truth in every word that you utter, you will live happy. And there is no man able to prevent this."
-Marcus Aurelius

[[f13]zstarkey42]

If you live everyday as if you were to die tomorrow... then everyday would be the same and that would be pretty boring now wouldn't it?

Jokes aside, life should be about long-term goals, and it's up to you to find a way to make the best out of every day until you reach them. If your life isn't full of ups and downs then it means you're dead. I never got the point of those ideals; I thought your life was a combination of both work/effort and satisfaction for achieving your goals, and hence, improving your future life - it is your job to be happy and find ways being happier right?. Now why are you going to jeopardize your possible future because you *might* die tomorrow? Chances of you dying tomorrow are much smaller than you dying any other future day, save rare cases (each day past only means higher chances of you dying later anyways).

[[DLGN]Bloodaxe]

I tried to live one die like I was going to die tomorrow. It was relaxing, I spent my time in the rocking chair, looking out a window, and coughing.

[Raina_]

I tried to live one die like I was going to die tomorrow. It was relaxing, I spent my time in the rocking chair, looking out a window, and coughing.

Read your post 4 times, over and over again. Don't know why i get a visual imagery of a late-middle aged, attractive, but depressed caucasian woman. Sitting alone outside the bench of a wooden cottage house, countryside. Been divorced many times and suffers some sort of cancer due to decades of smoking. Just me?

[[DLGN]Bloodaxe]

thats about it, i'm knitting, waiting for the grim reaper to come and take me any day now

[[LARG]Savvy]

Make money
Retire at 40
Do crazy ****
?????
Profit