Thinking about death can improve your life

A priori we could think that think about death It can lead us to a state of depression and pessimism. We are all gonna die. That's nothing new. Despite that, we try not to talk about it and consider it almost a taboo.

When we offer our condolences we say "I'm sorry about your father" instead of "I feel THE DEATH of your father". That "LO" replaces a word that we avoid pronouncing as if it were a contagious virus. However, over the years I have been able to verify in different ways (in the first person, or through news, etc) that the proximity of death has caused positive changes in the lives of some people.

You have surely heard numerous testimonials from people who have been near to death (either by accident or illness) and have survived.

From that moment on, their lives underwent a sudden change for the better. They began to worry about the really important things, leaving aside the banal problems. The fact of becoming aware of death gave them the necessary motivation to dare to be happy during life. It gave them the strength to pursue their dreams. Definitely, being about to die improved their lives.

Thinking about death: Testimonies

Someone I know just got over a anxiety disorder serious enough that it has kept him incapacitated for several years. To this day he is fully recovered and although he was not really close to death, he felt that he was "dead while alive".

He recently confessed to me that suffering from this disorder and overcoming it is what has finally done him to mature. This person is almost 60 years old.

Also comes to mind Steve Jobs and his famous keynote address at Stanford University. From the whole speech I am left with the following words.

"When I was 17 I read a quote that said" If you live each day as if it were your last, one day you will be right. "That phrase marked me and since then, for the last 33 years, every morning I have looked at myself in the mirror and I have asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am going to do today? If the answer was "No" for many days in a row, I knew I needed to change something ".

Steve Jobs did not have to wait for his famous illness to be aware of death and learn to keep it present in his life. He was young and healthy when he heard the quote that marked him. And for better or for worse, his work over the next few years revolutionized the world as we know it..

Thinking about death: Scientific evidence

So ... on the one hand we avoid talking about death and we remove it from our thoughts. On the other hand, the evidence shows me that having death present improves people's lives.

This is what I perceive and maybe I am wrong. However, there is also scientific evidence that confirms what I say. I will not go into detailing the process of these studies. I will limit myself to exposing the results:

• The memory of deceased family or friends causes healthier attitudes among people, from using sunscreen, smoking less, or increasing the frequency with which you play sports.

• Death increases our predisposition to help others. When we are in the vicinity of a cemetery, we are more likely to altruistically help a stranger.

• Awareness of death increases our empathy and tolerance for others. After the September 11 attacks, the divorce rate fell.

So should we ignore death or keep it in mind?

I believe that death is part of life and we cannot separate one from the other. My aunt told me recently that she thinks about natural death like a new birth that occurs at the end of our lives.

Our existence acquires meaning if we observe life and death as a continuum. If we turn our backs on death we will live an incomplete life.