Death Makes Life Worth Living
The ticking clock is what gives life meaning
“The meaning of life is that it stops.”
— Franz Kafka
If you've ever done an assignment at the last minute, crammed for an exam, or worked late the night before a report is due, you'll understand the power and motivation that a deadline brings.
If there were no deadlines in society, there would be no production. What motivation does one have to complete something that is never due?
With that said, what would life become if there were no death?
Death’s Deadline
My dad's father died in 1998, and his mother died in 2021.
He was very close to his mother, so I was concerned about him. He hadn't seen her in 10+ years. She was in Türkiye, and he was raising us in Australia.
He was upset, but he took it well.
I asked him if he was alright and how he was taking it so well.
He thanked me for my concern, and said,
"Without death, there is no meaning to life."
What’s the point without the deadline?
“Life’s impermanence... is what makes every single day so precious.”
— Wes Moore
Death is the deadline of life.
Without it, what motivation would we have to do anything? What value would it have if life were infinite?
What would be the point?
Take a moment to reflect on a time in your life where you were leaving, or when something was ending.
Did you feel that urgency?
Did you feel the push to tell someone you loved them, or to spend quality time with them? Did you feel the need to walk past your favourite coffee shop one last time?
Death is that ever-present deadline that changes everything. It gives meaning. It colours life.
We should not fear it. We should cherish it.
It's what makes things worth doing.
Let Death Bring Your Life to Life
In an effort not to let our loved ones pass in vain, we should treat every death as a reminder that life is finite. Use these painful moments as motivation to live a full, great and interesting life.
Let the deadline of death be the giver of meaning. Let it motivate you to take risks, do exciting things and live an interesting life. Let it ease your suffering when you are mourning.
What if death is not the grim reaper waiting to smite us down, but rather the gentle pressure that gives us the urgency we need to make something of ourselves?
What if death is what makes life the spectacle that it is?
Sincerely,
eren
Highly recommend Denial of Death, by Ernest Becker (or for any easier version, the 30 min Philosophize This podcast on Becker).
Basically, the thesis is that we always aim to transcend death, via physical means, but even more so via symbolic means (e.g. religion, kids, names on buildings, part of movements bigger than ourselves, etc.).
So, yes, death drives all meaning.