“Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it,” wrote novelist Haruki Murakami. And with the global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topping four million in July, death has become a bigger part of life than most of us have ever witnessed.
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he ancient Greeks and Romans, as well as earlier centuries of Christians, embraced the concept of memento mori. Translated as “remember you must die,” the phrase wasn’t meant to conjure morbidity or fear, but to inspire clarity and focus by reminding people of the extraordinary preciousness of life. Similarly, in the Buddhist tradition, the contemplation of death is an important practice. “Of all mindfulness meditation,” the Buddha said, “that on death is supreme.” It is something we all share, an experience every human being will have, yet death often looms as something to be feared, and remains a difficult subject to talk about for many. Also difficult to discuss: the grief that death can bring to those who have lost someone. Talking about death is something we will all have to do some time, so to help inspire and inform those conversations, we sought out some Fords who have become intimate with death: a priest, a hospice volunteer, a palliative care doctor, a visionary revolutionizing burial practices, and a man who experienced his own end and came back to write about it. We hope you enjoy their stories. —Eils Lotozo, editor, Haverford magazine
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Haverford Magazine
