Embrace your death!

Newsflash: you're going to die! Yep, it's going to happen. You might be able to prolong it, but you certainly won't stop it. Death is inevitable...this cannot be disputed. So, how are you going to go? Will you die from blood loss in a gruesome car accident, frantically trying to reach for your cell phone that lies only inches away from you on the broken glass littered asphalt? Will you wither away into a small, liquid-depleted husk of a human form as cancer cells steal what little energy your body has left? Do you think about how you're going to die? If you don't maybe it's time you should, and just maybe it will be the key to living a better life!

Photo credit: David Allan Barker / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

During the Tokugawa period of Japan, also known as the Edo period (1603-1867 A.D.), it was common for samurai, upon waking, to meditate on how they might die that day. It might seem like a morbid concept, but there was a method to this madness. As a member of Japan's warrior class, laying your life on the line was a common occurrence. Nervousness and hesitation during combat could cost a samurai his life. By thinking beforehand of the worst case scenario  (in this case, death) on a regular basis, he could ease his mind when the time came to raise his sword in battle as he had long since before accepted his possible fate. With his conscious at ease, he was more in a state of mind to recognize and respond to stimulus during combat. As a side effect of this daily practice, it was felt that it made the warrior appreciate the other aspects of his life, seeing as how he recognized that his time to enjoy it might be severely compromised in a moments notice.

Photo credit: Phil W Shirley / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND

So how does the practice of a warrior from ancient Japan benefit a westerner in the modern era? By thinking about the fact that we might leave this world at any time, we too might learn to better appreciate all that we have while we have it. Also, if you are afraid that you might die alone, perhaps you'll put more effort into meeting new people or finding that significant other that your life is lacking. If you fear dying of cancer or a heart attack, this might be positive motivation to alter your eating habits finally.at the very least, perhaps you won't be so stressed-out when life hits you with those little daily annoyances since you'll be better able to put them into perspective. After all, you've got bigger things to worry about!