Memento Mori

“Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. … The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.”

Seneca

I have read some stoic philosophy recently and one of the ideas it presents is the awareness of death, not in a morbid sense, but as something we should remain aware of. Time passes, often without notice when we are busy in the day to day living, but stoics such as Marcus Aurelius believed it was important to acknowledge that your life span is finite and to act accordingly; use it as a call to action.

“Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.”

Marcus Aurelius

The form below will generate a "life chart" image showing how much time has passed and (based on your selection) how much time is left. I find it interesting when a fact we all "know" is presented really clearly. For me this little exercise prompted an examination of how I spend my time and what really matters to me, how to best use the time remaining.

Yes it is all a bit morbid :)