Yesterday in a discussion among friends, the topic of being resolved over death before it occurs came up. Now it's not my intention to be morbid. In fact, I feel that being resolved about death this way ultimately creates a better quality of life. Yet it requires immense focus and incredible discipline to live like you are dead.

The ability to live only in each moment is a difficult feat to accomplish, yet it's rewards are many. It requires those who hold their lives in highest regard to abandon those egocentric ideals, and fits them with a clear view of the bigger picture. From this vantage one can better understand the position, or function in some instances, that she should most suitably adopt. For when one eliminates personal gain from the equation of life, the virtues by which all people live show through, and in their light it is difficult to be steered awry. Yet only in this light can one truly come to recognize both the personal truth of her life, and also of that which is happening around her. It is here, in the ambiance of virtue, that an individual finds enlightenment, and will know how to advance. For here the light of these truths, no longer dimmed by everyday distraction and personal involvement, shines bright and warm upon the one who has given her life no better thought than the rest.

Yet without that resolution, that understanding that life is fleeting, the truth of light will forever shine dully, and the virtues that unite all people will be hidden, fracturing both our understanding and compassion for one another.