About this quote

The line treats the end of life as an unknown experience you can meet with curiosity rather than only fear. That shift changes how you handle risk day to day: you do small things that reduce dread and increase presence. Try one concrete move — tell one person something important, make a short list of what matters, or set a modest goal for this month. See how treating one fear like an experiment changes what you actually do.

When to use it

• Quitting my corporate job to open a small bakery: I kept thinking, 'To die will be an awfully big adventure,' and that pushed me past the fear long enough to hand in my notice.
• Packing for a semester abroad in a country I don't know: when my stomach tightened, I remembered the line and booked the flight anyway.
• Sitting in the surgeon's waiting room before a risky operation, I said to my partner, 'I keep the idea in my head that this could be an adventure,' and it steadied me.
• Signing up for my first big mountain climb at fifty: when doubt hit, I muttered the line and clipped into the rope and started up.