Memento Vivere (remember to live); the complementary partner to “Memento Mori” (remember you (must) die).

It’s fucking great to be alive. No matter how shitty your life situation may be, being alive is certainly better than being dead.

Memento Vivere x Memento Mori

Woman with umbrella in rain. Tokyo, 2017

To me, I have been thinking about “memento vivere” as a prod, or a reminder… to live an ENGAGED, and ACTIVE life. It is a personal reminder to myself that I must be engaged in society, and not to live just for myself. It is a reminder for me to not just waste my time and life with mindless media and news, but for me to be an ACTIVE CREATOR— to make stuff (pictures, words, videos, etc).

Memento vivere is also a reminder for me to enter the “real world” whenever possible… not to just remain a hermit inside my own home.

Memento vivere is a good partner to “Carpe Diem”— Seize the Day! Each day is equal to every other day— meaning, what you do with today’s 24 hours is what counts. For most of us, at least 6-8 hours are consumed by sleep. For the rest of the remaining time— I think our actions is what defines us (not our lineage, or past). We are not our customs, heritage, or DNA— we are a culmination of the actions in our lives— the people we help, the art we make, and the real human beings we empower in our everyday lives, local communities, and online.

How to live more

Practical ideas：

With practical decision-making in life… is that action you’re going to do help you LIVE MORE? Or live less?
How do you personally define “living”? For me, it is spending time with my loved ones, it means exploring the world with my camera, and it means engaging with other humans, teaching, learning, and contributing to society.
Consider photography as a tool to appreciate life more, and to LIVE MORE! I think photography is great, especially when we use photography as an excuse to get into the city, to get out of our house, to travel, to explore, to meet other photographers (in “real life”), and to be excited to make images.