This is the terror: to have emerged from nothing, to have a name, consciousness of self, deep inner feelings, an excruciating inner yearning for life and self-expression - and with all this yet to die." Becker tackles the problem of the vital lie: man's refusal to acknowledge his own mortality. In doing so, he sheds new light on the nature of humanity and issues a call to life and its living that still resonates more than twenty years after its writing.
It's the ultimate human prerogative: to be alive and to know it. Unless you're a child or an idiot, if you're intelligent enough to know that you're here, you're also intelligent enough to recognise that you're not always be here. Are you with me? So start listening to the first five chapters.
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
The book has eleven chapters, so you may still want to go and buy it!
P.S. While I'll be in the pool for the next two hours, thinking of nothing more than staying alive, you may find it easier to listen to this video.
