“Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day… The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.”
SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 101.7b-8a
The theme for December in The Daily Stoic book is all about mortality, and it seems fitting as it’s the last month of the year.
The first entry for this month starts off with a doozy of a quote from Seneca. It immediately brings to mind a familiar saying which has become almost trite, which author Ryan Holiday recites: “Live each day as if it were your last.”
Prepare your mind as though today was the end. Expect the unexpected. Don’t put anything off. Balance up the books and make a full accounting of everything. Forgive everyone, and mend fences and re-build bridges as though you only have this one remaining chance.
Tell your family and friends that you love them. Let bygones be bygones. Be ready — for anything, even the end. As if it were your last.
We should do this every day, not just when we’re at death’s door. These are good and valid tasks; they shouldn’t wait until the last minute. Put “the finishing touches” on your life each day.
