Do You Agree With The Statement 'You Only Live Once'? 💛

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YOLO!

I have never totally grasped the idea of doing dangerous things because 'YOLO'. Surely, if we 'only live once', we would like to avoid doing dangerous activities to prolong your life. Yet, I do see the aspect in which you're doing fun, dangerous things to make your life more purposeful before you die. Some might say that you need to give life meaning and by doing, what some may see as, stupid things you can provide life that meaning.

However, how can you determine whether or not you're close to death in an accurate manner?

Danger is subjective. different individuals have different definitions of danger. For instance, skydiving. Some people skydive because it's a fun, dangerous activity and 'you only live once', right? However, others might do skydiving often and don't see skydiving as an imminent threat to their life. We cannot accurately determine if we are near death as danger is subjective.

Death is inevitable. It doesn't matter if you're near death in your eyes or not. It has been planned that we'll eventually die. For some, that's all they have to hear to make them attempt to enjoy life to the fullest and do these dangerous activities.

As death is inevitable, death should not be feared by anyone. It should be embraced. This was said by Seneca and Epicurus in Seneca's Letters. It's better to live life how you would like to instead of conforming to society's expectations and having a uninteresting, meaningless life.

Here is an excerpt from Seneca's Letters, Book One, Letter XXIV:

Epicurus upbraids those who crave, as much as those who shrink from, death: "It is absurd," he says, " to run towards death because you are tired of life, when it is your manner of life that has made you run towards death." And in another passage, "What is so absurd as to seek death, when it is through fear of death that you have robbed your life of peace?" And you may add a third statement, of the same stamp, "Men are so thoughtless, nay, so mad, that some, through fear of death, force themselves to die."

For people who have watched the television program, Vikings, here is a nice quote from Ragnar:

"Don't fear death. If it comes embrace it as if you are lying down next to a beautiful woman."

You should celebrate death as the day that you can truly say that you have lived life rather than dying in vain.

Tell me what you think! are you one to live a closed off life fearing death? Or do you laugh in the face of danger and say 'YOLO!'