"Memento Mori" written by Devin Gackle, December 2015

Okay, so, forgive the morbid title. I promise it’s not a morbid song.

The Latin phrase “memento mori” means “remember you have to die.” As in, you will die someday. It’s inevitable. But we live in a world where people seem to think they’re invincible, where people think they have the right to treat others like less than a human being. That’s why I picked that as the title.

I wrote this song because I want to make people think. How do you want to feel on the day you die?—about yourself, the things you’ve done, the things you’ll leave behind. Because there’s no way of knowing how much time we have on this earth; tomorrow is promised to no one.

If you weren’t sure that you would get a tomorrow, would you be proud of the life you’ve lived? Would you be happy? Satisfied?

You’ve probably been thinking about all the things you’ve done this year—naughty or nice? The holidays tend to do that. But I want you to think about it again; because the holidays do make everyone a little nicer, more considerate and generous. Everybody lets the kindness out in the spirit of giving and Christmas and stuff.

But…it should be like that all the time.

It doesn’t need to be the holidays for you to be nice to someone, to be considerate, or generous, or heck, to just care.

You don’t need Santa Claus to remind you to be a good person. You can just be a good person, all year round. You don’t need Hallmark Christmas movies to remind you that love is the most important thing. (No offense to Hallmark movies; I actually enjoy them and highly recommend them if you’re in the mood for a feel-good flick). You can always choose to love more, to remember that the less we worry about ourselves, the more we’ll care for other people.

And there’s this other thing that Christmas is about: The birth of Jesus.

The birth of Jesus, and the re-birth of the world. Because the world changed forever that night; we were given a chance to live life anew. Whether you believe it or not, it affects how you live your life, and it affects the lives of the people around you.

Christmas is the most magical time of the year. But there’s absolutely no reason we can’t spread that magic every season.

“...Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34).

So, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Life.

Lyrics:

All the sacrifices we made

All the times we tossed the blame

All the forgotten days

That seem so stupid now

All of the love we shared

We just want to know someone cared

Did we make sure we told them we were glad they were there

Or were we too proud

On the day we die what will we see

Will there be regrets and apologies

Or will we look back and remember love

Will we understand why we never gave up

All the broken faith

All the useless hate

All of our mistakes

Don’t seem so distant now

Did we matter enough

Or did we matter too much

All of the lives we touched

For better or for worse somehow

On the day we die what will we see

Will there be regrets and apologies

Or will we look back and remember love

Will we understand why we never gave up

Is there more to life that what we believe

Deep down inside we know there has to be

So why do we hold back and forget to love

Will we understand why love should be enough

Love makes its own decisions

But we don’t always listen

Sometimes we think we don’t deserve it

We want to know it was all worth it

Is there more to life that what we believe

Deep down inside we know there has to be

So why do we hold back and forget to love

Will we understand why love should be enough