In the Sci-Fi novel, The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula LeGuin the hero comes to a planet where they can predict the future. He is impressed. The natives are not. They say to him, “What is the one thing that we can say we certainty about the future, yours and mine?” “That we shall die.” Knowing that future should, but usually does not, shape how we act. The Bible asks us to meditate on death. Qoheleth: “To another who has not labored over it, he must leave property. This also is vanity.” St. Paul: “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Jesus: ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you.” In the tradition this is known as memento mori, remember that you are going to die. This is not morbid but instead the key to focusing on what is really important. When we remember that this life is passing we then shift our focus to what is enduring, to what lasts. We seek the things that matter beyond the immediate — love, justice, unity, peace compassion, and the like.
