Returning to the Root

Laozi teaches that all things return to their source—the uncarved block from which complexity emerges. In memento mori practice, this means systematically releasing the accumulated distractions, status symbols, and social pretenses that obscure our finite nature. By returning to simplicity, we shed the illusions that make death feel distant. A Taoist approach to mortality involves recognizing that our elaborate constructs—career ambitions, possessions, ego—are temporary ornamentations on an underlying truth: we are temporary beings. This concept asks practitioners to intentionally simplify their lives not from asceticism, but from clarity. Each removed layer reveals the fundamental reality of our existence, making memento mori not morbid but liberating.