As he sat with his father in the hospital room, he was anxiously waiting for his father to wake up from anesthesia so that he could tell him he loved him. As you might guess, his father never did wake. All this had happened thirty years earlier, and still it plagued this man each and every day. Another lesson to be learned from remembering the day of our death is a deeper appreciation of life. You cause us to drink out of the fountain of Your pleasures.
Life offers so much joy.
But it is so easy to take life for granted, to fail to appreciate its pleasures. A young man noticed that his 85 year old grandfather would get up each morning, look at the newspaper briefly, have a quick shot of liquor, and then sit down to breakfast. When we remember the day of our death, we are more likely to drink L'Chayim to life. Finally, remembering the day of our death helps us focus on what survives us when we are gone from this earth. I refer you again to the early morning service.