I Have Been Thinking about Death a Lot Lately
And maybe you should try it out.
Hi everyone, how are you all doing?
To be very honest, I think I’m the lowest I’ve felt in a while. Not mentally, I’m feeling lit that way! But energetically…
I haven’t rested since this month started, and the one day I took off last week, I got food poisoning. The next day was Monday, so I dived straight into work. And the impact of not resting hit me. I was irritated, stressed, anxious, annoyed, and hungry. I was deeply stressed for no reason at all!
When I had a full-time job, I balanced work, writing on Medium, freelance gigs, reading, and most importantly, Netflix. But with this change of being self-employed, I sucked at time management. I wasn’t even reading or watching TV, I was just stressed.
So I slept for nearly 12 hours on Saturday and rested a lot. Almost finished the entire season of Never Have I Ever, and am taking the entire weekend off work - how it should be.
I guess this is just a part of a new transition because we’re wired to feel we’re doing work only if we’re working for 8 hours a day. But I’m sure it’ll slowly get better, and I’ll make it a point to rest more.
Here are some things I’m up to:
Watching: Never Have I Ever on Netflix
Reading: The Beekeeper of Aleppo
Listening to: Cheeky Hindi songs that make me feel like I’m going through a heartbreak… while the heart is perfectly intact 🤞
Also, I’m still working on getting together a manual for you to know about side hustles/ getting into the creator economy, and how I quit my 9-5 to be a full-time writer. So stay tuned to the weekly newsletter as you all will be the first ones to know!
Let’s dive straight into today’s read.
I Have Been Thinking about Death a Lot Lately
Oh my god, such a negative topic to write about, you may think But when something has to happen, and there’s no way around it, why haven’t we made peace with it?
Why is the ultimate liberation process labelled as negative? As humans, we’re trying so hard to fight the inevitable and fear it for the entire time we’re alive.
Death will happen to you. However it makes you feel, it's important to make accept that. Because this is not my perspective or an ancient myth, it’s a fact.
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it, and that is how it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new.” – Steve Jobs
There’s a circle of life we’re a part of, and we’re not as special as we think we are. We’re not the centre of the universe, but hardly a speck in a vast universe.
Plenty of people have been here before you, billions in fact. Dinosaurs too. Everybody completed their cycle of life to create space for the world today. And then there will be a world tomorrow.
So why all the negativity towards death?
What will happen if you accept death? I mean, we all ideally should because there’s no running away from it.
We fear doing so many things. We want to keep living, and with the fear of not being able to live one day, we’re not living in the moment.
Once you accept death, life will become so joyful. When you put it at the back of your head that you have a limited time on earth, you’ll approach life differently.
It was my virtual farewell yesterday because I’m quitting my job to become a full-time writer with plans to become a creative entrepreneur in the future. Many people applauded my move, and some said I wish I could do it as you have.
I understand that we have responsibilities we need to fulfil. It also looks stupid to give up your senior position and a good salary to pursue something you simply desire.
I don’t advocate following your passion and being broke, because money is super important. I’ve shamelessly admitted in many of my writings how much I love money and how important it is for more women to be financially independent.
With that thought, we can always figure out money. But the question is, are you willing to do things you enjoy? And if you’re not, what’s holding you back?
“Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.” – Martin Luther
What if you took action with the thought of death at the back of your head? Because it’s unpredictable, and it's real. How differently would you pursue your life?
What if you could pursue life without the fear of suffering?
Would it be easier to change your career path into a non-traditional one? Would it be easier to get into a relationship even if your heart has been broken many times? Would it be easier to sit for more interviews without fearing rejection?
Maybe it would change the way you live life by adding more life to it.
Maybe it would show you how little daily stress matters because what doesn’t matter five years from now shouldn’t be worth your stress anyway. Maybe it will make you joyful. Maybe it’ll make you take bold decisions because what is the point of our existence if we’re not making the most of it?
Acceptance of death can be a motivator to make bold decisions and be courageous because often the best things in life require us to take a leap of faith.
To get into a relationship, to marry somebody, to start a fitness program, to start college, to pursue a non-traditional career path, to become a parent — all require a leap of faith that things will work out, but none of this is easy.
“Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.” – Buddha
Lastly, if there’s one thought I urge you to think of is that your time here is limited. That’s also a subtler way of writing that you will die. See, the ‘d’ word makes it so harsh because we’re conditioned to dislike and fear it.
Your time here is limited and what you do with it matters. You have what it takes to fulfil your dreams and live the life you want, not what you’re instructed. And if that doesn’t happen, thats okay, because at least you made the most of your time.
There are people who live and there are people who make the most of their life. In whatever life throws at you, try to choose the latter.
Additional Reads
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Lastly
I hope you know how grateful I am that you open this email or read any of my articles on LinkedIn or Medium.
Each time somebody leaves a comment or messages me something kind, I’m still in awe that typing on the keyboard leaves the kind of impact that it does. More than that, on a relaxing Sunday, you open your mail to read my work - I’m truly grateful to have your precious time.
I hope you have a lovely day, see you next week!
💕💕💕interesting topic yet I cringe with the subject to be honest. More than my death it’s the other people around me who i care and adore for. It’s a hard pill to swallow🙊
Hey Sodhi ,loved your article (Amit shah )