There’s an App that was recommended to me by a friend las week that is designed to help you look at life philosophically.
We were out on a walk last Wednesday evening, and I was impressed at how well she was dealing with the crushing disappointment of how well Trump appeared to be doing in the presidential election. This is before all those late, illegal, cheating Democratic votes started being counted if you’ll remember. I should add my friend is an American, from the Rust Belt but a liberal intellectual nonetheless.
The App is called WeCroak, and is inspired by a Bhutanese folk saying: to be a happy person, one must contemplate death five times daily. So, they send you a nifty death related quote five times a day. The idea is that contemplating and accepting our own mortality is liberating, and allows us to accept the things we must, let go of things that don’t matter and honour the things that do.
I haven’t got around to downloading the App yet, but I have my own handy way of reminding myself of life’s inevitable end. I walk the dogs through the cemetery next door regularly. I’ve mentioned some of the gravestones before, but here’s one that took my fancy today,
What amazing lives John and Eleanor Waters lived. They both lived to a ripe old age, having come across from the UK (presumably) at the time of the founding of our nation, and living right through until after World War One. They would have seen the advent of cars, electricity, telephones, and lots of other amazing things that I’ve forgotten about. No chance for them to have the luxury of not thinking about mortality, having lost four children in infancy. I can’t imagine the grief. An excellent reminder to be grateful for modern medicine, vaccinations, public health measures and universal health care!