Blog
Momento Mori(DW# 848)
Nov 25, 2020
As we mentioned, remembering death can be a powerful way to live our best selves in the present.
The Romans had an effective way to remember death at all times.
In the glory days of the Roman Empire, when a general or a warrior would win a big victory, the crowd would cheer and celebrate his return from a successful battle.
During the celebrations, there would be an advisor sitting behind the general. That advisor had only one job and that was to whisper something into the general’s ear.
Can you guess what he would whisper? Would he congratulate the general and celebrate his success?
Nope.
His job was to whisper a variation on a couple themes—either saying "sic transit gloria" or "memento mori."
Sic transit gloria: Latin for "all glory is fleeting."
Memento mori: Latin for "remember death" or "remember YOU will die".
The wisdom behind this was that appreciating how ephemeral life is and that we will die allows us to
1) Let go of...