This is a contemplation to increase intention around how you are living…

The great paradox of life is that you don't know how to live it until you realize it's ending.

Consider what you think matters. Look at the time and energy you put into things. Now imagine you're dying. Does that change things?

Well you don't have to imagine. You are dying. You didn't know that, did you? This realization should startle you.

You're literally dying right now. Every second, day, year is one step closer.

So why don't you start living like it? Live your life like it's coming to an end - because it is. That is how you live life fully.

Every day, every week, and every month are the ending of a chapter.

Your youth is slipping away, your 20s are slipping away, your 30s, 40s, 50s... your whole life is slipping away.

Life itself is but one continuous act of life coming to an end. So live it while you can.

Spend 5 to 10 minutes journaling or reflecting on the following.

(1) Death is certain. There is no place, no person, no phenomena that does not die.

(2) When death will come is uncertain. The causes of death are many and the body is fragile. We are like a candle in strong winds.

(3) In death none of our possessions or achievements will come with us.

This realization is not to live in fear of death. But rather to first, realize that because death is certain and when is uncertain, we must live with a sense of urgency and intention. We must take care to prioritize what matters most. And second, because death will strip us of attachments, it is really the quality of our hearts and minds and the joy we experience that matter.

So contemplating death in this way teaches us the precious precariousness of life - and to live accordingly.

Answer: How should you live? What matters? Who matters? What must change? What must remain?