William Irvine, an author and philosophy professor I’m a big fan of, often tries to point people towards a little-discussed fact of human life:
You always know when you’re doing something for the first time, and you almost never know when you’re doing something for the last time.
There was, or will be, a last time for everything you do, from climbing a tree to changing a diaper, and living with a practiced awareness of that fact can make even the most routine day feel like it’s bursting with blessings. Of all the lasting takeaways from my periodic dives into Stoicism, this is the one that has enhanced my life the most. I’ve touched on it before in my Stoicism experiment log and in a Patreon post, and I intend to write about it many more times in the future (but who can say?)
To explain why someone might want to start thinking seriously about last times, Bill Irvine asks us to imagine a rare but relatable event: going to your favorite restaurant one last time, knowing it’s about to close up for good.
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I'm David, and Raptitude is a blog about getting better at being human -- things we can do to improve our lives today.
Love this one. The meditation is easy - the exercise (regular) not so much. I tend to 'rest on my laurels' as I taught fitness for 18 years - then did a bunch of other physical stuff. LOVE your photos and captions, David. Hardly any comments?? Maybe people are either...