Even if the gates of the rich are closed, the gates of heaven will never be closed. –

We all know that death will most certainly come for every one of us, but no one knows when. It is not a thing we care to think of.

It seems so far off, so uncertain and yet, however young we may be, it may come to any of us any day, any minute.

On a subconscious level, nearly everything we think and do is a distraction from the fact that we are going to die.

Like the iPhone, we do not, and are not meant to, last forever.

From the moment we exist we begin the process of dying, continuously moving one step closer to the inevitable.

I do not know what happens after death and neither do you; but I do know I will die someday.

There are two existential truths we learn in this universe that define us as Human.

First, we come to realize we are separate beings, alone in our unique World.

Second, we are mortal and can not stop the inevitable decay of our physical self.

We cover up existential loneliness by constructing an Ego to defend ourselves against the World we are separate from, and we seek connection with others to ease this pain.

Sometimes it is enough. We cover up our inevitable death by distracting ourselves and hoping we just do not notice.

We jump around chasing things and achieving goals, thinking this is what we are meant to do.

This distraction pulls us from the present moment into the future, where our death will ultimately occur.

It creates a subconscious existential anxiety that distracts us from fully living in this present moment.

We invent problems and distractions. In the comfortable first World we even had to make up a term for problems that we should not even regard as problems.

We keep struggling with the same psychological issues in spite of having more material goods, food, medical care and comfort than at any time in history.

The more we have, it seems, the sicker we become in many ways.

The first World problem is invented to distract us frm our lost purpose and meaning. The midlife crisis is really a realization of our inevitable death, but we do not recognize it for what it is.

This truth becomes more urgent and real as our bodies are not as resilient after a night of drinking. We realize our fate.

This is largely subconscious, processed and suppressed by a brain that is trying to protect us from harm.

All we need to do is accept this truth, and this includes accepting all of our fear around death; the fear of living a life without meaning or purpose and fear of pain and loss.

Accept everything. Accept that nothing is permanent.

Come back to being present, and let go of judgment about your feelings and emotions. You will drift. This is entropy.

Use meditation to remind yourself to stay present, to remind yourself that fear is a natural event and the default state of Humans.

Use meditation as a weapon against this existential angst. It is not the only tool, but it is quite effective.

At the end of life many have regrets, and they usually revolve around the non-material: living a life not true, prioritizing things over relationships and not allowing ourselves to be truly happy.

Many people never face their feelings about death and as a result never truly understand what they want out of life.

Do not be one of these people. Accept death, and you will be free.