I wonder what jolts you to change? Do you regularly go somewhere in your mind or on this planet to get you out of a slump, to get off your duff and get moving in life? Maybe you are a contemplative, deep thinking individual and you need something to awaken you to the joy and vanity of life (Ecclesiastes 1). Like me, maybe you need to get out of your head and be encouraged to not take life so seriously. What electrifies you to change?
I think Timothy Keller gives one of the best illustrations for this newsletter when he says that we should view our death “as spiritual smelling salts that will awaken us out of our false belief that we will live forever.” No one in their right mind enjoys smelling salts. But I’ve heard that the clarity and focus that is derived from them propels athletes to perform at their best. I’ve read that smelling salts irritate the membranes of the nose and lungs and triggers an inhalation reflex which improves respiratory flow rates. Listen to neuroscientist, Andrew Huberman, explain what happens.
My aim in these letters is not to try and get people to smell something disgusting. My aim is like the byproduct of inhaling smelling salts. An alertness. A slap in the face. Waking up to the reality of our last chapter and letting that shape and form how we live today.
I’ll be honest, I tried writing this post earlier this week. I stopped. I just wasn't interested in thinking about my death. Maybe I was just tired at that moment. Or maybe I was doing what most of us do - denying the uneasy reality of my death. Either way, I am glad I came back to this because this uncomfortable work of consistently beginning each day with the end in mind pays dividends.
It feels so cliché to say (I hate clichés but I guess they are cliché because there is some truth to them to be repeated) but if you knew that today was your last, the day would be different. The day wouldn’t, but you would. 2023 is rapidly coming our way. If you knew that New Years day would be the day your soul leaves your body, this December would be lived differently. This Christmas would be richer. I would think that each hour would have a gravitas to them and each minute would not be wasted. Not wasted on being too serious for your own (and everyone else’s) good, and not too silly for the seriousness of life.
So, here’s to today. Crack the smelling salts of your death, and let’s live.
A Potential Future Scenario
Consider this. You have passed away. I hate that you did, but you did. You lived a full life. You loved your life and the experiences you were blessed with and the people that surrounded you. Your family and friends gather to celebrate your life and the legacy you left behind. Your honest spouse or friend who survived you stands at the mic and honors you. But they are honest, and they make a wish for what they hoped would have been different about you. And they begin by saying these three words:
If only he…
or
If only she…
How would they finish that?
Give them no reason to finish that thought.
You know what to do.