Memento Mori: an Ancient Practice
By: Enda Harte
Tags: Memento Mori, Self Development, Gratitude, Stoicism, Philosophy

Memento Mori: an Ancient Practice

Image design by the Author, Enda Harte.

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. — Viktor Frankl

I’ve previously taken an in-depth look at the historical aspect of memento mori (meaning remember you are mortal) including that of the ancient Stoic philosophers of who I wrote exclusively about, and indeed the people who are using it in the modern age, which you can read here in full if you so wish:

Now, however, I wanted to pay close attention and highlight memento mori from a practical standpoint. This phrase is typically used as a meditative exercise to tell us that our body, our careers, our reputation, our possessions, and even our family can be taken away from us at any time, therefore, should not be the primary focus of our lives.

You can also use this mantra as a reference to all the great and powerful people who came before us, who are now dead and buried. Have you ever heard of someone who was born and didn’t die eventually? If fortune allows it, we’ll have approximately 3 billion heartbeats in our lifetime, according to research from Peter Jones (author of the book “Memento Mori). So, how can these words assist you with not being careless with those sacred heartbeats? It is said that knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.

Exercises like these require consistent practice. Don’t kid yourself into thinking that only by doing this several times you will have the ability to curtail certain problems or spring into action by rectifying your procrastination without actually doing anything. Stoic Philosophy and its exercises require you to learn, practice, apply, and repeat what you’ve picked up through reading. Simply internalising the contents is not good enough.

So if you’re interested in starting to learn some methods, here are 5, I personally use that help me get the best out of day to day living:

Reflecting on your current standing: Take a step back from how you go about your daily life and ask yourself, ‘are the things I’m spending my time on worth it?’. There’s work to be done, and it’s part of our nature as human beings to carry out certain duties. We must not dither with those fleeting seconds that pass us by. I tend to do this a few times a year and often take myself to a mountainside or long countryside walk, less frequently than I’d like, but it’s the method that really rallies home when I’ve needed to change something about my personal or professional life. An attitude of Gratitude: Sounds clichéd to some, but grab a pen and notepad, or device and start accumulating a list of things that you’re grateful for. What can you think of? Gratitude for waking up in the morning with relatively good health (fate permitting) and a warm bed to rise from, often go overlooked as we scramble to our devices and caffeinated beverages. I recommend doing this most days, or failing that, whenever you can. You’ll be surprised how much is in your life that you often overlook, and personally speaking it’s a great method to use whenever you find yourself at an impasse of desiring more, as we often need a reminder of what we already have in our lives and perhaps don’t need more of. Physical reminders: If you want to use memento mori as a practice and assimilate it into your way of living, having a constant reminder in your home or on your person just like those before us, is certainly a way to press you towards those achievements that await your work and toils. I carry a minted coin with me every day and have a skull model in almost every room at home. You cannot beat physical prompts, they will reinforce your psyche to fall in line accordingly. Moderating your ego: A visualisation exercise I’ve carried out from time to time involves sitting alone in my office, repeating “memento mori” for around 2–3 minutes to myself internally, it’s like the practice of meditation and yoga where you are encouraged to choose a mantra and repeat it inward. This tactic has worked well for me, especially when it concerns a time that I might have had good news or success in my professional life. Humility is key. Another method, if you can muster up the imagination, is to visualise someone whispering those fated words in your ear as a reminder to tame your hubris. Tricky but effective.

What if this was my last day?: It’s not pleasant to think about this, but doesn’t make it any less possible. When I’ve found myself struggling for motivation, and at times courage, I’ve referred to this passage from the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius:

Remember how long you’ve been putting this off, how many extensions the gods gave you, and you didn’t use them. At some point you have to recognize what the world it is that you belong to; what power rules it and from what source you spring; that there is a limit to the time assigned to you, and if you don’t use it to free yourself it will be gone and will never return.

Imagining lying on your deathbed — remembering what’s truly important, do you want to be full of regrets? This exercise doesn’t necessarily need to be reserved for major decisions either, I’ve used it to get me out on the trails for a run, or indeed to take care of important legal matters that I’ve been putting off, and general life admin too. Contextualise it and make it fit your own circumstances, it’s your duty as a citizen of the great cosmopolis to not leave any stone unturned.

Image design from the author, Enda Harte: originally licensed from Shutterstock

Memento Vivere (Remember you have to live)

Before I finish writing, I want to end this piece on a positive note. I know that memento mori speaks volumes to some people, myself included, and when used in the correct context (like listed above) provides us with the aim to not squander our time on this planet and be grateful for each day we have in good and even poor health.

However, for some of us dwelling on our inevitable fate even in the philosophical sense won’t be helpful, and that’s okay too. As long as we have time available on this planet, let’s aim to enjoy it, death doesn’t always need to be present as a reminder and, if fortune allows it, let’s not beckon it to our doorstep so hastily. After all the rewards from life, come through actually living and playing the game as we hurtle through space on this blue sphere we call “Earth”.