Memento Mori

Mass by Ron Muek shot on film at NGV 2016.

I wrote another article for Channel Void, this one’s about using mortality as a motivator. It explores the Stoic Philosophy mantra: Memento Mori (remember you will die) and how we can conjure death bed clarity to make the most of the finite time we have before death takes as all. More uplifting than it sounds, here’s a taste.

“My first memory of death is killing a worm as I skewered it onto a hook to catch and kill (cook then eat) a fish when I was five years old. I can’t remember how many worms I mangled before finally catching the prized Rainbow Trout, but when I did, dad knocked the fish on the head with a stick and made its eyes bulge and go dull. There’s a huge, beautiful tropical fish called a Mahi Mahi. It has stunning colours that fade after it dies – a visual echo of death conquering life’s beauty. Rainbow trout keep their colour and seeing the beautiful flash of pink and silver in the bottom of the bucket made me sad. That was until the fish started thrashing again – life after death. Of course, that was just some errant nerves firing, not proof of the afterlife, dad said.“

Read the full article here and share it with anyone you think might enjoy reading it, especially young people.