Memento mori, remember you will die, sounds grim, but the Stoics used it as fuel for living. Marcus told himself to do, say, and think as if he might leave life at any moment. Not in fear, but to burn off the trivial and the petty. When you remember the day is finite, the grudge gets smaller and the kind word gets easier. You stop putting off the call you mean to make. This isn't about dread hanging over you. It's about letting the edge of life sharpen your attention, so the hours you have don't slip by unnoticed and unused.

Inspired by the old idea of memento mori. Written by Ugo Charles.