October Advent, Day 5: Death Cannot Conquer a Life Well Lived

Yesterday’s post ended with the line, “death cannot conquer a life well lived.” I hadn’t considered the line before writing it, but the more I think about it the more I like it.

It reminds me of when the scientist Brian Greene spoke at Brigham Young University, my alma mater. In the Q&A afterward someone asked him why he felt compelled to work so hard to find the answers of the universe given that he was an atheist and didn’t believe in an afterlife. Greene’s response was that he wanted his ideas to live beyond his life. He said he believed we each have a responsibility to leave our best work behind so it can survive beyond us.

That is a good moral framework to live by. If forces me to ask, If I were to die today, what would I leave behind? What mark have I made for good on the world? The fact that I’m unsatisfied with my answer compels me to try harder to produce quality, compassionate work. Life is too urgent to try otherwise.