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Do You Want to Know When You’ll Die?


April 4, 2025
“If you were handed an envelope with the date of your death inside, and you knew you could do nothing to alter your fate, would you look?”

I was reading Deepak Ramola’s book “The 50 Toughest Questions of Life” and found this particular inquiry deeply intriguing. Somehow this question reminds me of sneaking under the Christmas tree early in the morning to quietly unwrap a package before my parents were up. I feel guilty, excited, and rebellious just pondering this question.

I guess the obvious upside of knowing the answer is curating one’s life with that in mind. In fact, I could live life with a certain amount of abandon by knowing “I’m not dying yet!” On the other hand, opening the present spoils the surprise.

How about you? Would you open the envelope?

-Chip

P.S. My U.S. “pop-up tour” starts in one week at the glorious Esalen Institute, a place where I was on the board for a decade and where the bookstore is named after me and my love of books. If you’re an MEA alum, this is a great way to bring a friend to experience some of the MEA magic and if you’ve never tried one of our Baja or Santa Fe workshops or online courses, here’s a way to taste-test MEA before making the plunge:

April 11-13 at the Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California

April 25-27 at the 1440 Retreat Center, Santa Cruz Mountains, California

June 13-15 at The Art of Living Retreat Center, Boone, North Carolina

July 11-13 at the Omega Institute, Rhineback, New York

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