When we walked up to the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom yesterday, I noticed the theme store next to the attraction. Its sign, in big bold letters, reads “Memento Mori”. It occurred to me that a large percentage of the Disney visitors who go into the store have no idea of its meaning. As my regular readers know, I carry the phrase on my wedding ring, on my signet ring, and on a sticker on the back window of my vintage sports car. I remind myself often, especially during wonderful days with my spouse, Diane, that it could be my last day on the planet. Many of us speak the words about living today; but, most of us merely say the words, and then go back to living lives of quiet desperation. We chase money. We chase fame. We chase material things. We chase the approval of others. We wallow in our depression when bad things happen. Many spend their lives in self inflicted misery. Disney has turned death into a fun experience, and, as we approach Halloween this year, it might be helpful to spend a moment asking ourselves what are we doing in our daily lives. Are we living in the present? The gurus call it mindfulness. I call it living. Go live your life today. Don’t allow the opinion of anyone else change what you want to do.
