If you could live forever, would you? I feel like the knee-jerk reaction is to say, “Yes. Of course!”

It’s normal to not want to die, but the fact that life is fleeting is what makes it so precious. If it went on and on and on it would be like one of those Brazilian steakhouses where they keep putting meat on your plate until you hold up the card that says PLEASE!! FOR THE LOVE OF CHOLESTEROL … LET ME OFF THIS MEAT TRAIN!! (Actually, the card says “No, Thanks,” but if you happen to be carrying a Sharpie, you can edit it for clarity.)

Never ending ribeye, sirloin, pork chops, lamb, and chicken served by Gauchos sounds like a good idea, until it’s clear that it isn’t. Yet, we tend to not think about life and death that way. Few of us really want to consider our own mortality, even though it’s inevitable. 

When someone close to you dies, though, you are forced to take off your blinders and accept the fact that Benjamin Franklin was right: The only things that are certain are death and taxes.

In his book Permission to Mourn: A New Way to Do Grief, Tom Zuba says seeing death up close begins a dance between life and death—a place where all things are possible. He writes: “You’re different now. Someone you love dearly has died. And you’ve been cracked open. Big time.’”’ 

Tom says, death can be an invitation. Listen closely, and you hear life saying to you, “I’m not done with you. We have more to experience, more to explore, more to discover, more to create, more to enjoy, more to love together.”

For me, the realization that death is real has pushed me to do things I might have passed on before. Like signing up for a baton twirling lesson with a 20-year-old former majorette. Did I look silly that day in the park? You bet I did. But did it matter? No, it did not. 

And then I went to Paris. On my own. Without speaking the language. Was that foolish? Some might say it was. But I disagree.

I recently interviewed Jodi Wellman for Fast Company. She’s the author of You Only Die Once: How to Make it to the End with No Regrets and founder of the blog Four Thousand Mondays. Jodi and I are kindred spirits. We even have the exact same favorite childhood book.

When I told her I was going to Paris, she said, “This is bold and fantastic and inspiring and … hold on, I have to catch my breath … this is astonishingly alive!” 

Hearing someone reflect that observation to me made me feel completely badass and proud of myself. If you don’t know Jodi, you should totally check out her blog, her book, and her TED Talk. She’s badass and awesome.

Jodi says, “Remembering that we will die is the secret to a well-lived life.” I agree! Acknowledging your mortality is a good kick in the butt to get off the sidelines.

As the great philosopher Jon Bon Jovi once sang, “It’s my life. It’s now or never. I ain’t gonna live forever. I just want to live while I’m alive.”