When coming up with a name for ‘The Meaningful Life Foundation’ I thought for a long time about the name. Many people argue that there is much to be said for giving a business or organisation a name which describes what it does or who it’s for as explicitly as possible. Following this reasoning would suggest I have the terms ‘death’ ‘anxiety’ or ‘existential’ in the name somewhere, given that it is people with these issues that the organisation aims to support. Surely this would flag up my services to the group of people I most want to help? I also wondered if not having the word ‘death’ in the name was me being somehow avoidant and encouraging denial.

So it’s odd perhaps that the name I eventually settled on doesn’t have the word death in it at all – instead it has its dialectical opposite. Life. There are a number of reasons for this as I see it.

1.     I see life and death as being completely, utterly and inextricably interlinked. All aspects of the universe contain the seeds of their opposites. Positive and negative. Yin and Yang. Creative and destructive. Life and death. One has meaning, relative to the other. See my post on ‘My life. Insignificant and yet so significant’ for more on this and the law of polarity. 

2.     Death is something over which we have relatively little control. Yes we can wear our seat belts and and look before we cross a road, but ultimately there are many aspects of when and how our death will happen that are beyond our control. Life on the other hand is something over which we can have some control. Sure there will be many aspects of life which are also beyond control, such as illness or the behaviour of other people. But there are many small actions every day that we can choose to do or not do that are a part of living a meaningful and purposeful life. 

3.     For people who are preoccupied by intense anxiety and intrusive thoughts about death, or the impermanence or transience of life, all the scientific literature and psychological research suggests that a person should focus as much as they are able to on living a life of as much meaning and purpose as possible. This may involve asking themselves: what are the things that matter most to me and are most important; what sort of a person do I want to be; what do I want to stand for.

4.     My final reason for wanting to focus on life is not that I want to avoid death. I believe that I’m relatively comfortable with talking and thinking about death. However I am not someone who gets a thrill from talking about death. I am not ‘in to death’ in a way some people that I have met who work in this area are. I actually think death is a bit rubbish. However, I do have a profound appreciation, and love, for life. Most of the time, existing is really pretty great. I accept it won’t go on forever but I am 100% committed to making the most of this opportunity while I have it. And in my experience, reflecting on one’s impermanent place is the universe is a really effective way of reminding me and motivating me, and I hope others too, to do this.