Why Accepting Death is a Must

Everyone dies. As cruel as may sound at first, that is the one thing that is certain in life. So how did the Stoics rationalize this fateful event?

Marcus Aurelius died from the plague in 180 AD at the age of 59. Once he had realized that he was in the process of passing, he accepted it and didn’t eat the rest of the time he was sick. He knew what was going to happen and knew it was time to welcome death, which provides context to our quote of the week:

📚 Quote of the Week 📚

🪦 How Should We View Death?

Marcus Aurelius’ quote testifies that the wise individual, since death is inevitable, should not cause fear in us or even hinder us from making decisions and experiencing special moments.

We shouldn’t look at death with fear, hope for death to arrive, hope for death not to arrive, or even view death as something evil. 

Rather, we should view death as something that just happens.

👀 Why View Death That Way?

When we view death as something that just simply happens, we gain the courage to take that extra step and become great in our own paths. The Stoics also said that the individuals who fear death have not truly lived to their full potential (if you’re interested where they said this, send me an email!).

Fighters would not be who they are now if they feared death.

Tourists with once-in-a-lifetime story would not be who they are now if they feared death.

It can range from a variety of circumstances and individuals.

📚 Bonus Quote

There’s another quote commonly attributed to Marcus Aurelius but in fact came from the movie Gladiators (2000), and it goes as follows: “Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back.” 

You can’t escape, run, and avoid death. All you have the control to do is to accept it and live life moving forward without death hindering yourself so.

Cheers,

Betwixt

NEW VIDEO OUT TODAY AT 6PM: 
“Marcus Aurelius on Why You Should Accept Death”

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