The Upside of Death

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The Pine Box Theory

My philosophy towards death revolves around my first grandma. She was the first death I could remember. I recall being inside the chapel with just my father, mother, brother and her. She was buried in a pine box. Unfortunately, I was too young to have the true wisdom to fully appreciate the passing of a loved one. Yes, I loved and missed her, but I didn’t know her as my father did.

As I look back remembering her, I always wonder what kind of life she lived and what difference she made in the lives others. Aside from the ever importance of giving birth to my father and my father making the wise choice to marry my mother, I really never knew how my grandma approached life. What would she say about how she lived her life? Did she get to fulfill any of her personal dreams? Did she accomplish what she wanted while she was here? Did she even know if she had a choice? Or did she create a life locked into responsibility and obligation?

The Meaning of Life Revealed

These were my first introspective thoughts on how others approach their life. If this is how we end up, what really matters during the time we are here? Family? Friends? Work? Instead of asking what the meaning of life is, maybe we should ask how we find meaning in life.

Most people I know recognize that they have a choice, but don’t think about exercising it. I see so many people go about their lives without doing what they want or living the way they want. Sometimes we get distracted by our day to day activities, and sometimes we embellish upon these life distractions because they become a perfect excuse not to think about how we want to live life.

As an avid people watcher, I have kind of categorized people into groups based how they live life.

The Cynics (aka the realists) – these are the people that bring you down when you talk to them. There is not one ray of hope emulating from them, expect maybe a “some day” attitude. They pride themselves on being realistic or correct, but would never play upon an emotional key inside them as doing so wouldn’t make any sense to them. They may think they are right in what they do, but they never seem truly happy to me,

The Drones - They live their lives as they should and feel content with what life has given them. They don’t do anything out of ordinary and lives their lives without breaching beyond what they already know. And yes, they have a spouse, 2.4 kids, yellow lab and a white picket fence. (FYI… They often work for the cynics).

The Dreamers – These are the one’s always talking about doing something, but are never able to make it happen. The usually have a positive outlook and are fun to be around, but have no set goals or actionable objectives to get there. Their dreams turn into regrets!

The Doers – They are the more interesting people, and usually live the most exciting lives. They are not afraid of taking charge for the sake of getting things accomplished or, better yet, trying it on their own to make it happen. They take chances and fail as often as not, but know that every failure brings them one step closer to success.

The ironic thing is that no matter who you are or how you choose to live your life, the one thing in common you have with everybody else is that we all end up in a Pine Box. And when I happen to discuss this statement with everyone else; their personal perception of life really shines through. The people with less hope or a more realistic approach to life often comment on that I am being morose, while the people that really know how beautiful life can be often understand and sometime empathize with my view.

The point is that we have a limited time on Earth. And we should really take a step and think about some of the following:

How do you want to spend your life?
What impact, if any, do you want to make?
More importantly, have you thought about harnessing your life’s passion?

It’s Never Too Late to Make An Impact

The inventor of dynamite, Alfred Nobel, one day saw his name in the obituary. Obviously, the newspaper made a terrible mistake, but one that would change his life forever. The paper went on to make very unflattering and seething remarks on his life and contributions to mankind. Fortunately, this reflection on his life inspired Mr. Noble to make a fresh start. From that moment on, he felt compelled to create positive and helpful innovations for others, including an organization dedicated to recognizing individuals that make a positive contribution to mankind - the Nobel Prize.

While Alfred Nobel had to have a newspaper tell him to change, we don’t need to be that public. If we want to change our lives and make those discoveries, we need to start by exploring ourselves. One cheap first step you can take is to pick up a copy of Martha Beck’s book, Finding Your North Star. It is just one example of many experienced authors who specialize in helping others find their life’s mission.

Otherwise, we can always image that Pine Box and start to ask, “My life is worth living because…”

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