M E M E N T O // M O R I

M E M E N T O // M O R I

There is only one thing in life that is a certainty, regardless of your background, the way you were bought up, your ethics, your religion, your wealth; you will die someday.

 Memento Mori is a theory that I learnt about over 10 years ago. It has stuck with me ever since I started trying to understand its practice and living by its meaning. It has taken me time to grasp and I am still learning more about myself every day and how I feel about life and death. It’s a huge subject, right? So, I feel that as imperfect, flawed humans, we can struggle with the concept!

 Memento Mori is a Latin theory that bases itself upon our reflection on mortality and It can be translated into English as, ‘Remember you Die.’

 The whole point of this theory is not to put fear or grief into people and I certainly don’t see it as a pessimistic view, but it can help us to understand the inevitability of our Death and how we can live in a way that gives us clarity, inspiration and the motivation to continue.

 This practice has been understood and appreciated throughout history; from Philosophy and Art, to architecture and Literature; it has been taught and lived by through a variety of methods and has given people more meaning and purpose to their lives. We are here on Earth for such a small amount of time – why not make use of the time we have here; learn from others and from ourselves and most importantly to not fear the reality of the struggles of life and the certainty of our death. As Socrates says in Plato’s, ‘Phaedo’;

 “The one aim of those who practice philosophy in the proper manner is to practice for dying and death.”

 Certain Buddhist values have also been central to my understanding of Death. The concept of ‘Bardo’ (which my Company name materialised from) is something I will write about in a later Blog Post, but for me, has a huge connection with the Phrase, Memento Mori.

 Mindfulness is a crucial teaching within Buddhism. The Mindfulness of Death is a reflection on the inevitability of death and that life is impermanent. Everything is impermanent, marked by birth, aging, death, joy, sorrow, pain, grief and despair. Everything is in the process of becoming and dying.

 ‘Maranasati’ is the Meditative practice that means ‘Death Awareness’. This practice can help us to acknowledge the transitory nature of our life and can help us to decide if we are living our life how we want to live it and if we are making the best use of our time here. As Buddha put it,

“Of all the footprints, that of the elephant is supreme. Similarly, of all mindfulness meditation, that on death is supreme.”

 Even if you do not practice meditation, (I hadn’t for years and definitely don’t meditate often enough!) I feel it is important for us to grasp the acknowledgement of our death as this gives us urgency in life to do good; to be patient with not only others but also ourselves, to be empathetic and to not take life too seriously! By doing Good, we are using our time here as wisely as possible and making life more manageable for all. Buddha said,

 ‘Make haste in doing good’.

The fact that we’re mortal absolutely does not affect the way in which we behave and how we go about making decisions. But it could. Death Awareness enables us to be present, allows us to focus on what is important, gives us perspective and can make us feel liberated. By appreciating the value of the phrase, ‘Memento Mori’, we can enjoy life even more so and remember that it’s ok to not be as perfect and wonderful as we want to be. We are humans which means we are (sorry) pretty insignificant, we are here for such a short amount of time and our death is inevitable! So, enjoy the present, live in the moment and do the best you can with the time you have.

The Memento Mori Collection is available to shop by clicking the link below