Life Is Short. Live Well (The 15-Second Practice Most People Never Try)

The wake-up call I didn’t want (but needed)

4 min read

1 hour ago

The doctor leaned back in his chair, sighed, and said the words I didn’t want to hear:

“You’re going to need hearing aids.”

On the outside, I nodded. On the inside, it felt like a small funeral. Not because I didn’t see it coming but because hearing aids meant limitation. Age. The quiet truth that my body isn’t a forever home.

My wife smiled. Finally, I’d be able to hear again. Relief was supposed to be my response too. But something else happened instead.

That moment woke me up.

It turned my attention toward life’s brevity. Not as a threat, but as an invitation. A reminder that days are fragile. That attention is precious. That drifting is easier than we think.

And that remembering this, even briefly, changes how you live.

Why remembering death was meant to wake us up

In the sixth century, a monk named Benedict gave some blunt advice:

“Day by day remind yourself that you are going to die.”

It sounds grim. But Benedict wasn’t trying to depress. He was trying to wake them…