Death, Life, and Spirituality

I’ve heard the story a number of times in the past. I don’t know if it’s legend or if this place actually exists. No matter the accuracy of the story, it strikes me that that the account coveys a timeless truth.

As the story goes, a group of pilgrims visited a monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. As they toured the monastery’s church, they found a human skull at one of the shrines along with a sign which read, “O Pilgrim, once I was as you are now. One day you will become as I am.” In the midst of the beauty of the ornate Orthodox church, the pilgrims were faced with a stark reminder of each one’s mortality.

In the 1970’s, Ernest Becker’s book, The Denial of Death, examined the many ways society avoids death by glossing over it with euphemisms and a youth oriented culture. Forty years later, I suspect that the only thing that has changed about Becker’s fundamental analysis is that we’ve merely become more proficient at denying death with the help of better cosmetics and plastic surgery. It’s very easy to live as if our lives will go on indefinitely.

In contrast to the many ways we gloss over death as a natural part of life, existential philosopher Martin Heidegger held that what made human beings different from other creatures is the awareness of our own death. We all know that one day the time will come when our lives will end. This awareness is the root of a basic anxiety that makes us want to act at though we’ll live forever. While we want to act as if we’ll live forever, Heidegger was clear that the only way to live fully in the here and now was to face the reality of one’s own inevitable demise. The brilliant colors of life can only be seen against the black backdrop of death.

So, why this depressing talk of death in a blog about spirituality? Precisely because as Heidegger suggested, it is by honestly becoming reconciled with the limits of our own life that we have an opportunity to choose how we live. The opportunity is to either sink in the despair of what appears to be the futility of existence or to freely choose to create something meaningful and purposeful with the lives we have.

Some people make the assumption that spirituality is a way to escape from the difficult things in life into a state of blissful denial. There are surely those who attempt to escape from life’s pain through a kind of pseudo-spirituality that avoids discomfort or turmoil. But I would suggest that authentic spirituality is actually what Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard called a leap of faith. The leap of faith happens after one recognizes that life ends in death and decay, It’s only then that one can choose to live with a rich sense of purpose and meaning.

Authentic spirituality is rooted in our ability to embrace life fully. It’s in the midst of the joys and pains, hopes and disappointments, the opportunities and limitations that we are able to weave together a unique tapestry that is rich in color. It’s that unique tapestry of color that threads our experience of life’s value and meaning.

Thorton Wilder’s play, Our Town, depicts Emily coming to the realization of life’s wonder only after she died. From the grave, she exclaims, “O Earth, you’re too beautiful for anyone to realize!” While the realization was tragically timed for Emily, we have the opportunity to drink fully from the cup brimming with life and choose to allow our lives to be brilliant with our own sense of meaning, purpose, and value.

As the story goes, in the midst of the beauty of the Greek Orthodox church, the pilgrims encounter what they don’t expect to find: death staring back at them. The skull is more than a symbol. It is a call to wake-up and encounter the richness of life in each and every moment.