A simple, but helpful way to stop fearing death is to think of all those who clung tightly to life. What did they gain by living longer than others? In the end, they all ended up in the grave — like Cadicianus, Fabius, Julianus, Lepidus — people who buried others only to be buried themselves.
The gap between birth and death is short, no matter how long it seems. And look at how exhausting it is — full of effort, surrounded by difficult people, lived in a fragile body.
So don’t overvalue life.
Think of the infinite stretch of time before you were born, and the infinite time after you’re gone. In the face of eternity, what’s really the difference between living three days or three generations?
