"To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead." ~ Miyamoto Musashi
In all of human history, written or unwritten, there is one truly universal experience. Death. It is something that i believe everyone dreads at some point in their life. It is an unexplorable, untestable, mystery. Do we cease to exist? Is there an "ever-after"? This all contributes to a natural hesitation of giving literally "your all".
For me, this proverb lends itself to say, "just how far are you willing to go?" "What is the true price are you willing to pay?" If you are in a place where 'life and death situations' is a real possibility, more often than not, anything less than every ounce of your will to do your duty, complete your mission, can result in not only the failure of your job/mission, but likely contribute to the death of others, and likely yourself anyway. But, it is only natural to come head to head with that eternal, most serious, fear.
In those situation, the only way you can "give it your all" is to come to own the fact that we all die. It is only a matter of what day/time. So, give yourself over to the knowledge that, in the history of time, you are already dead, so, give it everything, and fight as if you are already dead.
Now, a deviation from this one train of thought i have also come to know, and live by. I LIVE as if i am already dead. I am diagnosed as "severely depressed". So much so, every time i see my Psychiatrist i am given a set of questions, basically asking if i am planning on harming myself or others. I have been asked, more than once, if i have certain... instruments, at home. But, as a Christian, my belief is that, it is not up to me to determine when i will leave this life. That is ONLY for God, only for my Lord Jesus Christ to say, "it is time". So, for me, i live my life, every day as if i am already dead unto MYSELF.
If you have navigated by this page, and you are struggling, PLEASE do not fight this fight alone. You are not weak to seek help.
If you, or someone you love, is contemplating suicide: Call, or text 988 - from anywhere in the United States. If you are at your wits end, and you are not in the United States, i am researching other services around the world to share as well.
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