We will die, and that's ok

I think for many parents – certainly for me – there are few conversations more difficult, and memorable, than the first conversations you have with your children about death.

“Daddy,” they ask, “Are you going to die? Will I?”

What I have said in those moments is, “Yes, I am going to die. You will too. Some people believe that when you die, if you’ve been good, you go to Heaven, where you will live forever.”

“Do you believe that Daddy?” my son asks. “No,” I say, “I don’t believe that. I think we are incredibly lucky to be alive for as long as we are here. That's our eternity. And it’s our job to make the time that we have together beautiful.”

Then my son asks, “But what happens when we die?”?

“Well, I think the experience of being dead is probably a lot like the experience of being born. Do you remember before you were born?”

“No.”

“Did it hurt?”

“No.”

“I think it will be the same after we are gone. So there is nothing to worry about. Let's get some ice cream.”

That’s what I said to my boys. But I am not sure I was totally honest, because, truth be told, I am not a big fan of this whole dying business. I would prefer not to die, at least not any time soon.?

Which is to say that I do fear death -- not so much death itself as the possibility that I will feel, when the time comes, that I still have unfinished business. Did I remember to bungee jump? Did I finish the novel? Will I feel that the orange that is life has been fully squeezed? And this question lends every day a sense of urgency.

So when I encountered a book on the Next Big Idea App called LIFE IS SHORT: An Appropriately Brief Guide to Making It More Meaningful, and listened to its author, Dean Rickles, professor of history and philosophy of modern physics at the University of Sydney, distill his book into 5 key insights in 14 minutes and 53 seconds, I thought to myself – this is an interesting topic, and this guy has an interesting point of view? … let’s get him on the show.

So this week, an appropriately brief conversation about how to make your short life more meaningful. Listen via Apple or Spotify, and please share your take in the comments below :)