#Microblog Monday 350: Thinking About Death
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I am all for normalizing death—it is a part of life—but I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around the idea of thinking about death five times per day, an idea from Bhutanese culture.
More, I’m thinking about whether you can take a practice out of one culture and drop it into another and get the same results. Despite that, I thought this video was fascinating.
What is your reaction?
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2 comments
Because of the two careers I have had (registered nurse, then litigation attorney), I have probably spent more time thinking of death than the average American. In our culture, we seem to shun thoughts and talk of death, even though it is a natural and expected part of life that will come to all of us someday.
I take your point about questioning the effectiveness of taking a practice out of one culture and dropping it into another, hoping for the same result. Thinking of death regularly can certainly help focus one’s mind on what is important in life, but five times a day seems like a lot to my American mind. . . and I certainly don’t discuss death with friends or acquaintances (who would probably find that morbid or troubling).
That sounds like a fascinating book. I get the idea of thinking about death to make yourself appreciate the now and be more present, and to take the sting from it as a fear. But. I think that could translate into the “at-least-ing” that isn’t productive (at least I’m not dying, I could be dead instead of unhappy, etc.).
I agree with the plopping something from one culture to another and not having it be quite so meaningful. American culture is obsessed with preventing and avoiding death.
Fascinating.