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Show HN: Life calendar – use the concept of Memento mori to embrace every week

life-cal.com

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Re: Show HN: Life calendar – use the concept of Memento mori to embrace every week

#51
Around 2014 I came across this article of Wait But Why, https://waitbutwhy.com/2014/05/life-weeks.html

Which lists the same things, same concept, but instead of a pdf, it gives you a jog of same grid.

I personally used an excel sheet with first column listing my age in years, like 0,1,2, all the way till 90.

First row has months spanning across four columns, so B1:B5 will be Jan, & so on till Dec. Last column has year in YY format, so it starts from 84,85,86 etc for total 90 years.

First row & first column, i.e. headers are fixed view.

Each of the actual cells are all light grey border, with month bounry (every 4th column) a bit darker grey. The overall boundary, 12x4= 48 columns and 90 rows have thick black border.

All columns have vertical center text, and left aligned.

All cells, columns, rows have exact same width height, not headers.

Each of the month is roughly divided between 4 parts, 1 to 7, 8 to 14, 15 to 21, & 21+.

First entry simply says Born. On my birthday.

Then school classes, they all start in April first week. First, Second etc.

Then college.

Some personal events, like birth of my siblings.

Every time something major happens (like relocation), I change the background of those cells to another pastel color.

Text left aligned, so overflow flows over to next columns.

Someday I will make a blog post at davinder.net & will attach a blank all setup excel sheet, for no money :)

Re: Show HN: Life calendar – use the concept of Memento mori to embrace every week

#52
Slowly approaching the point of being... well, let's call it "mature" ;) ... I'd like to offer a slightly different perspective.

When you're young, constantly focusing on your deathbed is frankly a waste of time. Focus on your friends. Focus on having experiences that make great stories to share with your friends. Enjoy life.

Don't worry, as you age, you'll certainly focus on mortality. But I'm firmly convinced that having a full, joyous life always trumps striving for doing things you'll recall on your deathbed. Once I get there, if I feel loved, that will be enough.

Re: Show HN: Life calendar – use the concept of Memento mori to embrace every week

#53
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mindfulness (what you’re basically describing) does not conflict with memento mori. When you realize that this tomato could be the last tomato you’ll be eating, having the conversation with your kid be the last conversation you’ll be having etc etc you’ll fully appreciate each moment in life as if it could be your last.

> Mindfulness Mindfulness is a product of an industry seeking to capitalise on the yoga pants (and later suits) demographic, to great success. Let's not legitimise it by using it as an example of healthy thinking, because it's not.

Mindfulness is an English translation of the Buddhist word “sati” which Buddhists use to describe one particular quality of meditation. To dismiss it because some people have coopted it would be like, well, to dismiss the yoga tradition because of “yoga pants”.

Re: Show HN: Life calendar – use the concept of Memento mori to embrace every week

#54
post #36

I read a quote today that I think is relevant: > “Do not ask your children to strive for extraordinary lives. Such striving may seem admirable, but it is the way of foolishness. Help them instead to find the wonder and the marvel of an ordinary life. Show them the joy of tasting tomatoes, apples and pears. Show them how to cry when pets and people die. Show them the infinite pleasure in the touch of a hand. And make…

So, I have a family. When I do something memorable in a weekend which involves social action (such as going to the zoo with the family, or a birthday party), I need to recover from it. I can't do something similar next weekend, I need to relax the weekend after. Maybe its the fact I am autistic. I don't fancy the life calendar stuff. I am very curious by nature, and curiosity I find the most important in 'doing'. I r…

I'm the same. I've attributed it to being a natural introvert. Extroverts seem to gain energy through social interactions, and can do one social event after another. Introverts seem to expend energy, and need a recharge between.

Re: Show HN: Life calendar – use the concept of Memento mori to embrace every week

#55
The OP is paid (else watermarked). I had made a crude version of this for myself some time ago [1]. It's available for free and is somewhat customizable

The preview on the right seems to be blank, but if you click on the 'Download' link, it generates the PDF correctly/as intended.

To get a sheet where you get to cross off everything on your own, just use 0 as the age in the input box.

[1]: http://q.ht/life-in-weeks-on-one-sheet/

Re: Show HN: Life calendar – use the concept of Memento mori to embrace every week

#56
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mindfulness (what you’re basically describing) does not conflict with memento mori. When you realize that this tomato could be the last tomato you’ll be eating, having the conversation with your kid be the last conversation you’ll be having etc etc you’ll fully appreciate each moment in life as if it could be your last.

> Mindfulness Mindfulness is a product of an industry seeking to capitalise on the yoga pants (and later suits) demographic, to great success. Let's not legitimise it by using it as an example of healthy thinking, because it's not.

Just because something valuable can also be exploited by greedy capitalists does not stop it from being valuable.

There are some legitimate reasons to be wary of the push for mindfulness -- for example, when it is pushed by employers to try and increase employee satisfaction and retention, in lieu of actually improving their quality of life -- but that certainly doesn't mean the practice itself is bad.

Re: Show HN: Life calendar – use the concept of Memento mori to embrace every week

#57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mindfulness (what you’re basically describing) does not conflict with memento mori. When you realize that this tomato could be the last tomato you’ll be eating, having the conversation with your kid be the last conversation you’ll be having etc etc you’ll fully appreciate each moment in life as if it could be your last.

The OP is talking about enjoying the small things in life, which is clearly not mindfulness. >> When you realize that this tomato could be the last tomato you’ll be eating You're confusing Stoicism with Mindfulness.

There is some overlap. There is the Buddhist practice of Maraṇasati (mindfulness of death, death awareness), which is very similar to the Stoic practice of remembering that death or loss can strike at any time. Similarly, Vipassana, or Insight Meditation, which is one of the forerunners to the westernized mindfulness meditation, includes a focus on impermanence.

Re: Show HN: Life calendar – use the concept of Memento mori to embrace every week

#58
I created my own calendar like this 2 days ago. You can mark all kinds of significant events you remember and see how they fit into your life so far. It's incredible how much things change over a few years time.

Tip: If you're from the EU, A4 paper pages with 0.5cm lines perfectly fit 52 weeks x 36 years. No printer needed.

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