Mortality gives meaning

Last night, I wrapped up watching the first season of Star Trek: Picard. (Spoiler alert for all potential viewers) In season finale, the popular synthetic android, Data, chooses to die by asking his erstwhile captain to delete the last remnants of his positronic being. As an 'artificial' life form, while 'dying', he talks about mortality.

Mortality, he opines, gives meaning to human life.

And that's so true. Peace. Happiness. Memories. Love. Relationships. Friendships. They are all precious to us, because we know they cannot endure. And amidst being affected by what's happening around us, most of us have realized that or simply remembered that again.

Contrary to what some experts have written in their articles, things have changed. People have changed. And how people see the world has changed. Because if there's anything this period has taught us, as people, is that we need to value those little things that are precious to us, but cannot endure, even more than we have before. We will feel a lot more nostalgic and romantic over things we haven't lost yet, because now, more than ever before, as a collective species, we've realized their transient nature. We will love more. We will connect more. We will try to defy that transient and mortal nature of our being by holding onto each other a little harder and extending those ephemeral moments a little longer.

Understanding this lack of control we have over our mortality is key. And helping each other have more control over our journey to eventual mortality, by enabling that which is precious to us to endure as long as possible, is one way we can come out better, because of the worst. As organizations. As communities. As people.