Honouring Life, Not Fearing Death

The other morning, after a yoga practice full of hip openers (the ones that always dig a little deeper than just the physical stretch), I headed into the gym. A tough start to my day had me taking it out on the cross trainer, legs pumping, mind racing. And then it hit me, a question I didn’t expect:

Am I doing all of this because I’m afraid of getting old, of slowing down, of death itself? Or am I doing it for something else entirely?

It stopped me in my tracks.

Buddhist teachings remind us of impermanence, that nothing lasts, everything changes, and that clinging to what once was only creates suffering. Aging, shifting energy, loss, they’re not failures, they’re part of the flow of life.

And yet, I thought, here I am lifting weights, eating mindfully, training hard… what for? To stop time? To outsmart the inevitable?

But the more I reflected, the clearer it became: I don’t train to fight death. I train to honour life.

I choose movement not because I’m afraid of aging, but because moving my body makes me feel alive. I eat well not to cheat time, but to feel strong and clear in this one body I’ve been given. Yoga, weights, long walks, even cartwheels in the garden, they’re not about resisting change, they’re about embracing presence.

Because when I’m moving, I’m here.
Fully. Authentically. Presently alive.

So maybe the real question isn’t “What am I working against?” but “What am I working for?”

For me, it’s energy. It’s clarity. It’s the strength to hold my boys when they need me, the stamina to guide a class with joy, the vitality to live this one life as fully as I can.

For you, it might be something else. Maybe it’s simply the peace of walking outside in the morning air. Maybe it’s the confidence of feeling steady in your body. Maybe it’s the quiet joy of noticing that your practice, your training, your effort is about so much more than “progress.”

So the next time motivation dips, or you feel like your effort isn’t “enough,” pause and ask yourself:

What am I working for?

Because in the end, it isn’t about fearing death.
It’s about loving life.