Three thousand two hundred and eighty-five days to go! That's according to the above table which gives me another 9.0 years (or 3285 days). Of course, I could have a sex change to gain those extra 1.7 years but that would be a bit messy, wouldn't it? Anyway, who wants to be that greedy?
I mean, although it wasn't always cricket, I have had some terrific innings. Yes, there was some underarm bowling and ball tampering going on and I got caught out a few times but, although I dropped quite a few, I also had some brilliant catches and, as we all know, it's catches that win matches.
Still, it's a bit of an untidy number, isn't it? Maybe I cut back on coffee and Coke and marshmellows and retsina to round it out to an even 3500.
Medieval philosophers would often keep a human skull on their desktop as a memento mori to remind them that they too would one day die. I think that if we have an awareness of our own mortality it can help us to focus on what really matters. When we begin each day knowing that it is a unique opportunity, that this day has never happened before and will never happen again, then we will be more deliberate in how we spend it.
Skulls are a bit hard to come by and even harder to carry around with us. Why not print out the above life expectancy table to carry in your wallet?
Memento mori ! Remember you must die!
