Earlier quoted context omitted.
Either that or learn to accept death.
...or understand you were never born in the first place.
explain
At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on
151–160 of 287 posts
Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on
#152Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have spent hours mediating in graveyards. Also helpful is the mediation on the 32 parts of the body to help you loosen your attachment. https://www.imsb.org/contemplating-the-32-parts-of-the-body/
I meditate regularly, but I think this type of exercise is misguided and betrays the body-denying/denigrating bias that can be often found in religious traditions world-wide. It encourages an ignorant attitude towards the body: instead of contemplating the miracles of the muscular system, see it as amorphous flesh. Amplify the spurious association of the skeleton with the malnourished body it resembles, instead of ma…
You are not your body nor your mind. That is a core tenant of most Buddhist philosophy.
Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on
#153rawls' social utility theory stated that by maximizing the welfare of the worst-off person, you improve all of society; at the time i learned it it seemed like a strange idea. but then i thought: every moment in your life can be valued according to how much life you have ahead of it. the present moment is the most valuable; and the very last moment, the least -- you have nothing ahead of it. i thought: if you live yo…
That "live today as though it's your last" was too dark for me. Fatalistic or something. To get out of my rut, I needed something forward facing, optimistic.
I eventually settled on "live every day as if it's your first." More of "new mind" mentality. I needed something that emphasized awe, joy, wonder, discovery. Vs the addict's group therapy cliche "today is the first day of the rest of your life."
FWIW, my first brush with death was 34 years ago. Having done the bereavement cycle a few too many times kinda moots the exercise. Needs to be done. But it's just a stepping stone.
Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on
#154The nicest bit for me was where he talked about growing old being a privilege and not to lament every grey hair and wrinkle. Puts it in perspective.
As I often say, "Growing old sucks, but it is better than the alternative."* *I can't take credit. I got it from someone else, but I don't remember who.
It varies. Got badly injured a few years ago. Had a period of almost a year of horrific agony.
At a certain point living was just a horrible punishment.
Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on
#155Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
So if I never loose my money it is worthless! Ha! Sorry, no. It is our attachment to things that determine their worth.
Technically money that is never spent (lost) is kind of worthless tho
When people get philosophical about this, they are generally trying to avoid materialism and thus not thinking in the terms I am about to use, but I wonder how investment fits in with that attitude.
From one perspective your money can sit idle in a brokerage account, from another it is put to use by someone else.
You could take out capital gains and dividends, and spend them, leaving your starting balance the same. That starting balance could continue making you money.
In other words there are ways to imagine money never spent, sitting in an account, that isn't worthless.
Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
As I often say, "Growing old sucks, but it is better than the alternative."* *I can't take credit. I got it from someone else, but I don't remember who.
Thing is, we don't quite know about the alternative. The undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller returns and all that.
Act 3 Scene 1 of Hamlet, by William Shakespeare:
https://www.sparknotes.c
Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on
#158“All that is mine, beloved and pleasing, will become otherwise and will become separated from me”— Siddhartha Gautama. As a Buddhist we do “contemplation of death” meditation on a regular basis. It involves imagining our last few hours on our deathbed. It is a wonderful exercise to help put things in context. It makes you behave differently towards people you meet, even strangers.
In similar vein, I recommend checking out The Bardo Thodol (AKA The Tibetan Book of the Dead) by Padmasambhava.
Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on
#159My wife passed this year from cancer. Looking back we had no idea how close we were to the end, and in the last few weeks her beautiful mind was influenced by the disease. I’m sure someone on HN is going through this at least adjacently and my recommendation is to not wait to the end to have important conversations. For those that aren’t going through this now, maybe for a little while live life like you are...it mig…
Thanks for sharing your personal story. I think it’s important for everyone to realize that we are all human. Nothing more, nothing less. The world has become super competitive to the point that we all seem to forget this simple fact.
Re: At 31, I have just weeks to live. Here's what I want to pass on
#160The nicest bit for me was where he talked about growing old being a privilege and not to lament every grey hair and wrinkle. Puts it in perspective.
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