Here’s the full quote from which these few words are taken:
“We’re all going to die, all of us, what a circus! That alone should make us love each other but it doesn’t. We are terrorized and flattened by trivialities, we are eaten up by nothing.” ― Charles Bukowski
Well, for a start, we should appreciate our lives beyond the meaningless ‘doing’ that so many of us get trapped by.
I mean, who was it that brainwashed us to believe that there was only one way to live, i.e. to go to school, get an education to get the best-paid job possible, and to work towards retirement?
If that wasn’t bad enough, too many of us — me included — take life for granted, whereas we should be much more mindful of our actions.
And no, this isn’t about living the perfect life — i.e. do this; don’t do that — but instead, we should live responsibly, knowing at some stage we’re all going to die.
But again, too many of us get to a stage where we press the button marked “Don’t care” and self-destruct. Drink, drugs, crappy food or an unhealthy dose of narcissism. It all amounts to the same thing.
And that’s fine.
No, really: it’s your life.
But truthfully, given the wondrous world we occupy and all the things we could do with our lives, why would you check out before you’ve even got going?
In many ways, as odd as it may sound, those people who live fast and die young (not on purpose) are the ones who should inspire us. They show us what’s possible, whereas too many of us live for a quiet, sedentary life.
To repeat. How you choose to live is entirely up to you, but knowing you’re going to die should (at least) inform, if not dictate, how we live…day by day.