Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are not here today to meet over such cordial things as the closing season of baseball, like so many of our fellow citizens; nor the newest clothes one might buy at the next “Big" store, like those which anyone, who is someone, is wearing; nor even the coming of jack frost, and the snow queen soon after, whom our children anticipate with such enthusiasm. This topic of ours, put to us by our subconscious fears, is that of Death. Many are afraid of Death, and therefore seek to forget Him, though it be unwise. The man who does not expect Death for tea, because He is forgotten out of fear, is the man who is then in turn forgotten. Not only will one's life fall shortly into obscurity, but one's very essence contained so little meaning that it would be a task of the most meticulous detective to find anything which would be worthy of remembrance. On the other hand, those who have grown to know who Death is, have, in a sense, cemented their legacy in the very air they lived in. Their intimacy with The End is ultimately what removed them from being taken altogether. A man who was capable of befriending death is a man who knew the art of friendship, and will thereafter be remembered by his countless loved ones he has left behind.

Now with the notion that, “to know death is to know life" or thereabouts, I put to you that nothing in life is of consequence and that in knowing all is for naught, all will become for some greater purpose on Judgement Day. This, of course, is an idea which goes against nearly every grain in the fragile human mind. The very utterance of meaninglessness in conjunction with an action which one is invested in is blasphemy. However, I would argue that once one comes to terms with the fact that even the areas in life one is most passionate about are without consequence, one will discover the true wonders of the aforementioned area. This does not apply solely to matters of consequence, and is applicable to even the most mundane of daily activities. Take dating for instance. One would rather stew their mind in agony and “what could have been" rather than speak to a person to which they are attracted. Their fear is that of rejection, rightfully so some might say, but if one is to really think about the ramifications of simply acting on the urge to ask their “crush" if they would, say, like to grab a drink sometime, one would come to understand that their pain of rejection would, in most cases, be temporary, whereas the pain of unrequited love is a pain which can last decades, even lifetimes in some cases. I then say that if one were to throw their prefabricated notions of doom, that flood the mind when thinking of confrontation, out the window and come to realize that it does not matter, one will find a direct path to the cure of heartache. Granted, one may be rejected on numerous occasions, yet if one were to sincerely understand and work with the notions set forth previously, their “Bad Luck" will be short lived. The idea that nothing matters, though often taken as “a depressing way to look at life" is, in reality, all but that. I know that believing nothing matters would drive many to death, but I say that if one sets that idea as the base of their actions, they would come to find that which truly matters, to them, far faster than those who pretend to find meaning and substance in that which they are in reality disinterested in, but are too busy telling themselves that it's “for them" to notice.

The monks of Buddhism seek to reach enlightenment through letting go of all earthly thoughts and actions. In a similar stream of thought, one can approach the meaninglessness of life to achieve their highest aspirations. Many who would change the world are too afraid to because the mental bars they have built around their mind. Bars made strong by the opinions of those around them. Take away the meaning behind the bars which hold one's mind at bay, and there is no limit to what one will be able to accomplish. After all, if one comes to realize that one's insecurities are in the minds of those who were responsible for one's own insecurities, one would come to see that it is almost comical to base one's actions off of the fear of judgement from others. For unless those who judge us have already let go of the meaning of life, which would make their judgements ones that would encourage letting go of meaning, they will still be stuck in the same mental prison as everyone else. Those who disregard death and meaninglessness will be passed by, while they try to navigate their life doing things which they were raised to do.

Rinse clean the slate of meaning you were given at birth, and forge your own from the actions YOU do. When Death comes knocking, as with all who have lived a life worth remembering, you will greet Him knowing you've done what really mattered and not what you were told mattered. Meaning is subjective, but one must understand that to form one's own subjective meaning, truly one's OWN, one must let go off what they perceived as meaning, and discover anew what THEIR meaning is.