“Learning to die …?” It seems nonsense to say that death, that unknown, can be the object of learning. However, Socrates said that we don’t really have wisdom until we learn to die, and  Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) cites the Roman orator and philosopher: “Cicero said that philosophy is nothing but to prepare for death.” 

Of course this is not always thinking of death in a morbid way, but that, before its inevitability, we can accept it with serenity, reviewing the values ​​and the way we live distinguishing the futile from the priority. 

There are people who just reevaluate their way of living in limit situations such as severe illness, kidnapping or any forceful way that reveals the fragility of life threat. Others prefer not to think about death because they see it as annihilation, to admit that there is nothing after it. How would we live from this event? According to some, considering that life should perhaps be appreciated enjoying the present moment, as the exaltation of the Roman ‘Carpe Diem’. 

 

The death of those we love and the imminence of death stimulate our beliefs about immortality or some kind of continuity of life, such as reincarnation. Therefore the appeal to religious faith assuages ​​the fear of the unknown, offers a set of beliefs that guides human behavior before the mystery of life and determines ways to ensure better direction to the soul. 

Although, faith continues as a beacon to many, the philosophy is one of the expressions of human transcendence, death cannot be odd, in general we have to deal with our existence in order to live better. 

I think that ‘learning to die’ begins by acknowledging that we’re all dying from the time we are born. We don’t know how long we’ll have or when the big moment will come or the circumstances of our demise. But all paths lead to the same end point — at least on this planet. 

Learning to surrender (not succumb) is the essence of learning to die. It is the essence of accepting the fact we don’t control most of what we think we control. It is ‘letting go’ of the past and the future and allowing ourselves to experience the serenity of just being alive. Mastery of this state can take a lifetime or occur in an instant. It is a transformation in our relationship with: ourselves and other people, the circumstances, and time….♥