Abstract
Our first breath is the beginning of our journey towards death, something that is very difficult to accept, and as a consequence we consider death the enemy. But is that the right attitude to take? Doesn’t being alive become more precious precisely because of our inevitable death? Doesn’t death teach us the value of time? Doesn’t death create “deadlines” that motivate us to get the most out of life?
Life and death are important. Don’t suffer them in vain.
—Bodhidharma
That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.
—Emily Dickinson
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Notes
- 1.
Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries (2020). The CEO Whisperer: Meditation on Leaders, Life and Change, in press.
- 2.
Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries (2009). Sex, Money, Happiness, and Death: The Quest for Authenticity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
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Megan Trenner (1982). Accuracy of perception and attitude: An intergenerational investigation, Perceptual and Motor Skills. 54 (1), pp. 271–274.
- 4.
Randy Pausch (2008). The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams - Lessons in Living. Kindle Edition.
- 5.
Eugene O’Kelly (2007). Chasing Daylight: How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life. New York: McGraw Hill.
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Kets de Vries, M.F.R. (2021). Death as Meaning-Maker. In: Quo Vadis?. The Palgrave Kets de Vries Library. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66699-6_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66699-6_4
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