From The Book of Life:

Every age should be in search of effective ways to keep death in mind. 

Once we would look at skulls or at martyrs, hourglasses or withered flowers.

Rather than try to crush us with the remembrance of death, they are on the side of life, they give us new determination to make sure the coming days are not wasted like so many others have been. 

It no longer matters quite so much whom we squabbled with and what our anxieties may currently be about.

With death in mind, we are set free from things that shouldn’t constrain us in the first place: our fears, wrong preoccupations, false values. 

Unfortunately, we’re likely to forget the wisdom on offer here within hours.

We’ll be back to losing perspective – and overlooking the sunlight and the charm of the breeze. 

These are the sort of ungrateful minds we all have – which is why we continuously need the resources of art to renew our connection with the unbearable but deeply necessary truths.