“Momento Mori”

I came across the concept of a “Momento Mori” calendar. It means “Remember you must die”. It is a calender depicted in the number of weeks from birth to the expected age you will die. Each dot represents a week of your life. A countdown to your death, so to speak. It might sounds rather morbid and depressing, but if you dug a bit deeper, the “Momento Mori” is a visual reminder that life is short and time moves on regardless.

Life expectancy in an average Australian male is 81 years and 85 years for females (AIHW, June 2024). This equates to around 4,300 weeks of life. How many weeks of life do you have left?

This truth becomes poignant when there is a end date to living. When disease processes overwhelm the best efforts to cure, the clock starts ticking. Life feels so much shorter. This week I sat with a family who have a very limited time with a loved one who has metastatic cancer.

I have seen people react in different ways, many become the best versions of themselves. Everything takes on a different perspective. Suddenly, things are seen through different lenses and things that matter the most come into sharp focus. Squabbles fade. Past misgivings are forgiven in an instant.

An Afghani colleague I worked with in Khost told me that when he sent his son to school, he never knew if he would see his son again. Each morning when he dropped his son off at school, nothing else mattered except to be in the moment with his son. That brief moment that could be the last.

Live today like it is your last.

Be well.

JC.