About Death from the book "The Pilgrimage" - Paulo Coelho

Sharing some passages from Paulo Coelho’s book “The Pilgrimage” from the chapter “Death” which I am reading now:

"Human beings are the only ones in nature who are aware that they will die. For that reason and only that reason, I have a profound respect for the human race, and I believe that its future is going to be much better that it’s present. Even knowing that their days are numbered and that everything will end when they least expect it, people make of their lives a battle that is worthy of a being with eternal life. What people regard as vanity - leaving great works, having children, acting in such a way as to one's name from being forgotten - I regard as the highest expression of human dignity.

"Still, being fragile creatures, humans always try to hide from themselves the certainty that they will die. They do not see that it is death itself that motivates them to do the best things in their lives. They are afraid to step into the dark, afraid of the unknown, and their only way of conquering that fear it to ignore the fact that their days are numbered. They do not see that with an awareness of death, they would be able to be even more daring, to go much further in their daily conquests, because they would have nothing to lose - for death is inevitable"

The second paragraph reminds me of the book “The Tibetan book of living and dying” written by Sogyal Rinpoche. We live our life without realizing the importance of Death, avoiding its talk & ignoring its reality. Allowing it to be part of our thought process helps us live fulfilling lives.