I watched The Bucket List a couple of days ago. I thought the movie was enjoyable and had loads of important messages. One particular conversation that caught my attention was when Carter mentions the two questions that Egyptians believed would be asked before entry to heaven. The two questions where

1. Did you in this life experience happiness?
2. Did you in this life bring happiness to others?

For me Death has been one of the most important topics for philosophical exploration. There are lots of philosophies about life which keep death as a perspective. For example there is a philosophy which prescribes that you should lead a life based on what you want your tombstone to say. A good tombstone(for a man) might read “Here lies a good father, loving husband, cherished friend …” (you know the drill). What this does is drive you to be a better husband, father, friend ect.

One of the things I discovered in life is that you tend to make better use of your time if you keep somewhere in the back of your mind the fact that one day you are going to die. Your mortality makes you think about people, action and relationships in a different light, and almost always drives you to look at the greater cause of your actions. You tend to look at decisions and simply measure it as worthy of your time or not.

One of the most amazing things about Death is that it is a great leveler. Everybody dies, the rich and the poor, the beautiful and the ugly, the pious and the sinners, the brave and the cowardly… So what matters is what you make of your life before walking into the sunset like everybody else.

I have looked at many philosophies on how to lead a life, some base it on pleasure, some on faith, some on experience, some on freedom… The list goes on. The ones I found most capable of change in a man are almost always based on Death…

A beautiful quote from Fight Club goes:

First you have to give up, first you have to *know*… not fear… *know*… that someday you’re gonna die.