Memento mori: (Latin: "remember (that you have) to die”)
The medieval Latin theory and practice of reflection on mortality, especially as a means of considering the vanity of earthly life and the transient nature of all earthly goods and pursuits.Mono no aware (物の哀れ): (Japanese: “the sensitivity to ephemera”)
The awareness of impermanence (無常 mujō), or transience of things, and both a transient gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing as well as a longer, deeper gentle sadness about this state being the reality of life.L’appel du vide: (French: “call of the void”)
The psychological phenomenon in which people, with no desire to die, find themselves faced with a steep cliff and experience a strong desire to leap.Amor fati: (Latin: “the love of one’s fate”)
An attitude in which one sees everything that happens in one’s life, including suffering and loss, as good; or, at the very least, necessary.
L’appel du vide is the most interesting phenomenon, though, because it appears to be almost universal, to some degree or another. (By degree, I mean: my dad only gets it if he’s really high up, whereas anything more than a story gives me that murmur in the hollow parts of my chest.) The theory is that it’s the instinct to make a decision, do something really conclusive, in a situation where your brain feels in limbo, and at the top of a tall edge, there’s nothing more conclusive than jumping off.
(Source: aterraterra, via fireflyca)
