Are You at Peace with Mortality?

Let’s get into it — death. Big, unavoidable, the one guarantee we all share. Most people pretend it’s not there until it smacks them in the face. I used to be one of them.

The Panic Spiral

For me, the fear of death wasn’t just some abstract worry. It was a full-body experience. I’m talking panic attacks — the kind where your heart’s racing, your chest feels crushed, and you’re convinced this is it. I wasn’t dying, but my mind sure thought I was. Those attacks forced me to face the thing I was running from: my own mortality.

My Obsession with Death (in a Good Way)

Once the fear cracked me open, I couldn’t unsee it. I went all in — read everything I could get my hands on about death, dying, and what might come after. Some books that seriously shifted my perspective:

• The Lost Art of Dying: Reviving Forgotten Wisdom by L.S. Dugdale — made me realize we used to have a much healthier relationship with death before society started treating it like a failure.
• Becoming Nobody: The Essential Ram Dass Collection — Ram Dass has this way of making death feel... almost friendly. Like it’s just another trip we’re all going on eventually.

The Corporate Wake-Up Call

Somewhere in all this, I had a very loud, very rude epiphany: life’s too short to waste working for the man. Sitting in a corporate job, grinding away at meaningless tasks, pretending any of it mattered in the grand scheme — it felt like a slow death all on its own. So I left. I walked away from the fake security, the titles, the noise — and decided to do what I actually love: creating.

What Does "Peace with Mortality" Mean Now?

For me, it’s not about pretending I’m cool with dying. I’m not in a rush to meet the reaper. But I don’t live in terror of it anymore either. I’ve accepted that:

• I’m temporary — we all are.
• My worth isn’t tied to how long I last.
• Control is an illusion, and the sooner you surrender to that, the freer you get.

Signs You’re Still Running (I Know Because I Did All This)

• Avoiding funerals like they’ll infect you.
• Freaking out over every weird body sensation.
• Measuring your life by how much you achieve, instead of how much you actually live.

Finding Your Own Peace

• Face it. Death’s not the enemy — avoidance is.
• Leave your trace. Make something, love someone, leave a mess behind — whatever feels true.
• Laugh at it. Gallows humor is survival. I’d rather crack a joke with a skeleton than pretend I’ll live forever.

Final Dose

So, are you at peace with mortality? Or are you still pretending it’s not in the room? Either way, time’s ticking. Might as well spend it on what matters — whatever that means for you.