When we first launched the little WeCroak app, people thought we were strange outliers for wanting to talk more about death, especially to young people. Now in the face of a global pandemic, who can avoid thinking more about the impermanence of life and all current conditions.? In a recent article, CNN talks about how the pandemic is pushing up consideration of death for more people. And of course, it’s always an honor when major news mentions our app. Thank you CNN!
Thinking About Death Head On In 2020 Will Actually Help You Avoid Going Nuts
A couple years ago the WeCroak App came out with a simple proposition: Think about death five times per day, and you’ll be happier. It will help keep what’s important in perspective and dispense with the things you don’t really care about. We’ve now sent over 50 million reminders that say, “Don’t forget, you’re going to die.” We like to think people have been using it because it helps.
Now it is 2020. The amount of death, disease and violence can feel overwhelming. Do we still need daily reminders about our own death when the world is bombarding us constantly with reminders of our own mortality? We think it may actually be more important now to be honest about life’s precariousness — and avoid the impulses to panic, escape, or deny our vulnerability.
This year, as the pace of death quickens, it is easy to feel a little panic. Our first impulse is often to run. If instead we can lean into death as a mindfulness tool, peace awaits. Accepting vulnerability helps us live happier and saner lives. We can prioritize what’s important to us.
2020 has also underscored what happens when we deny death. People start to believe the pandemic is a hoax, that masks are bad for their health, that they don’t have to take precautions. Lives get lost as a result. And more than a few people look ridiculous raging at the doctors and nurses trying to help them. To be succinct, if we can’t find a sane and sober relationship with death in times like 2020, we can go a little crazy.
Thinking about death regularly is, in some ways, like being aware of breathing. All of us are breathing all the time, yet there is something special that happens when we focus our attention on the breath even more in meditation. Researchers have found meditation brings a myriad of health benefits, from stress relief and better sleep to better memory, mood and cognition. All that from merely noticing more closely something we are doing all the time anyway.