The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F_ck

it stifles me, I empty my thoughts, focus my attention on
the bottom of the cliff below me, force myself to gaze at my
potential doom, and then to simply acknowledge its
existence.
I was now sitting on the edge of the world, at the
southern-most tip of hope, the gateway to the east. The
feeling was exhilarating. I can feel the adrenaline pumping
through my body. Being so still, so conscious, never felt so
thrilling. I listen to the wind and watch the ocean and look
out upon the ends of the earth—and then I laugh with the
light, all that it touches being good.
Confronting the reality of our own mortality is important
because it obliterates all the crappy, fragile, superficial
values in life. While most people whittle their days chasing
another buck, or a little bit more fame and attention, or a
little bit more assurance that they’re right or loved, death
confronts all of us with a far more painful and important
question: What is your legacy?
How will the world be different and better when you’re
gone? What mark will you have made? What influence will
you have caused? They say that a butterfly flapping its
wings in Africa can cause a hurricane in Florida; well, what
hurricanes will you leave in your wake?
As Becker pointed out, this is arguably the only truly
important question in our life. Yet we avoid thinking about it.
One, because it’s hard. Two, because it’s scary. Three,
because we have no fucking clue what we’re doing.
And when we avoid this question, we let trivial and
hateful values hijack our brains and take control of our
desires and ambitions. Without acknowledging the everpresent
gaze of death, the superficial will appear important,
and the important will appear superficial. Death is the only
thing we can know with any certainty. And as such, it must
be the compass by which we orient all of our other values
and decisions. It is the correct answer to all of the questions