Memento Mori: Life, Death, and Doing Everything in Between

Do you remember your first celebrity death?

Mine was Cory Monteith. I remember receiving the news alert on my iPhone 4 in the middle of the night, and I couldn’t sleep. Despite not being a fan of Glee, I blinked blankly and stared at the ceiling most of that night.

Memories like that tend to stick with you, and that melancholy comes back from time to time with the shock of unexpected death.

Last week, on October 16, Liam Payne died. He was only 31 years old.

I wasn’t a Directioner by any means, and I’m not here to comment on tabloid gossip. I only wish to say that I felt deep sorrow when I heard this news, as I do with anyone who is “gone too soon.” They were so young, we lament. They had so much potential.

Potential. A life left unfinished.

Now, I don’t intend for this post to be a Debbie downer; rather, it’s a wake-up call.

There are so many things that I want to do and achieve. Obviously, you can’t do everything at once — and you shouldn’t— but every day is an opportunity to grow.

When writing this article, I came across a reflection from St. Alphonsus Liguori, who said the following about time:

“And for what reason do you put off until tomorrow that which you can do today? Remember that the time which is already past away is no longer yours: the future is not in your power; the present time alone you have for doing good.”

A cerebral truth bomb, that is.

At a retreat I once went to, Catholic speaker Chris Stefanick said, “Nobody makes it out of here alive.” Time is not infinite.

The phrase “memento mori” invites us to remember our deaths. Actors like Jonathan Roumie wear skull rings to remind themselves. Others keep a skull on their desk. It all goes back to the same idea, though — live fully because we are not on this earth forever.

Rather than excessively dwelling on the end (dun, dun, dun…) a fire was lit underneath me to go and do. As someone who dips her toes in the water, hesitating and waiting for the right time, I’ve come to learn this: the right time isn’t later, it’s now.

When you surrender that feeling of infinity and realize just how brief everything is, your perspective changes.

There’s a freedom to knowing we’re all figuring life out. There’s a freedom to just throwing your cares to the wind and going after that job, pursuing that relationship, or even starting that blog.

As a person of faith, I feel this all the more. God’s given each one of us gifts, skills, things that make you uniquely you. Like the parable of the talents shares, we are invited to “come and share in the master’s joy” by using the gifts he gave us and using them well.

We are not promised tomorrow. Every day is precious. What are you doing to live your life to the full?