My friend is afraid of dying.

The fear of dying is probably not altogether rare, but the conversation I shared with my friend this week got me thinking.

Fearing death seems like a bad thing because it often causes us to freeze, to play it safe, and to focus on scarcity. But there is also a lot of value in recognizing that tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us because that awareness can drive us to make today count.

We are only here temporarily. There is nothing that can be done to change that fact, so be generous, be kind, give a little more than you take, laugh, cry, hug someone, and make choices based on your priorities instead of simply reacting to the most current “catastrophe.”

The fear of death may not be so bad if it helps you to become fully alive.