[One Thousand Characters a Day] 'Sentences of Mourning' for the End of Life <1>

Editor's NotePeople die twice. Once when the breath of the body ceases, and again when they disappear from the memories of those they were connected with in life. The process of the body withering is similar for everyone, but the way a person vanishes from memory varies. Between these two deaths, the living honor the deceased through mourning or remembrance. While remembrance mainly reflects the public deeds of the deceased, mourning is underpinned by private affection. This book is a collection of writings for those going through a time of mourning. It draws from elegies left by philosophers who have contemplated death from ancient times to the present, as well as excerpts from poets, novelists, films, and essays. Word count: 1072.

What is clear is that death, whether positive or negative, has a profound impact on life. Many who have faced the threshold of death due to accidents or illness confess that they felt a newfound attachment to life as much as fear and despair. They realize the preciousness of time and relationships they once took for granted and often live lives completely different from before. This is because, at the moment they truly feel death, many things they had been anxious about seem meaningless. This leads them to reflect on what truly gives them the strength to live and what is genuinely important among the many things that make up life.

Steve Jobs reportedly asked himself every morning from the age of seventeen while looking in the mirror, "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" After being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer, he said in his Stanford University commencement speech:

"Remembering that I will soon die has been the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life."

As he said, thinking about

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