With the last two posts ("On the nature of expertise..." and "Uncertainty can be uncomfortable..."), I described the 19th century English Romantic poet John Keats' concept of "Negative Capability" in the context of a universal definition of expertise. Again, Keats was educated and trained as a physician and scientist. It was only after his medical training that he became one of the greatest poets of his age. Sadly, Keats died of tuberculosis at a very early age (25 years), even for that time period. The epitaph on his tombstone is instructive - it read "Here lies one whose name was writ in water." In other words, Keats believed that everything that he did during his short lifetime - all the poems he wrote - would fade into oblivion shortly after his death.
I am reminded of the Stoic concept of "Memento Mori" (Latin for "remember that you have to die"), which I discussed in a couple of posts in the past - see "Carpe diem" and "This too shall pass". Throughout antiquity, individuals have carried or displayed artistic reminders (most commonly a human skull) of the fact that death is inevitable for all of us.
St. Paul in his first letter to Timothy (1 Timothy 6:7-12) wrote, "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." In other words, "You can't take it with you" when you die. Live for today.
The Roman Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius wrote, "Keep in mind how fast things pass by and are gone - those that are now, and those to come." He further admonishes us to remember, "You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think."
Even though Keats' words were, in fact, remembered long after his death in 1821, I think he would agree with the concept of "Memento Mori". We would all do well to remember that our time on this Earth is relatively short. We should live for the present, not for the future. Live your life today to the fullest. And most importantly of all, remember that all things do pass, even us.
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