There was a time in my life where I’d start off each day by saying “hoka hey,” which means “it is a good day to die.”
I know that sounds morbid but for me it was actually a life affirming experience. I felt that in order for me to be able to say hoka hey each morning, that if I might actually die that day, that I needed to know that I was at peace with the world and that the affairs in my life were in order. Did I have a good relationship with my family and friends? If not, I better make sure they were. Had I accomplished the goals I had set out for myself? And were those goals important enough that it would not be a good day if they were not accomplished? And what goals would I not lose sleep over if they were left undone by my sudden death? It really put things in perspective on what was important and what was not important in my life by acknowledging my possible death each morning. And it also made me appreciate my life that much more.
I’ve felt my mortality more this year more than any other year in my life. I’ve had that unpleasant feeling that there are so many things in my life that I’ve left undone and so many things that will be unattainable. I’ve felt out of balance. But then the words hoka hey came to mind and gave me succor.
“Et in Arcadia ego” is a Latin phrase that acts as another touchstone with my death. Translated it means “Even in Arcadia I exist.” It’s an ambiguous phrase that some people interpret to mean that I, the person who is now dead, enjoyed the pleasures of life. It’s an ironic statement contrasts the grim spectre of death with the blithe joys of the living. But I choose to interpret “Et in Arcadia ego” the same way I use “hoka hey.”
I selected tracks for today’s show in that spirit. It’s a celebration of the seasons and life but with the knowledge that some day we all will die.
- I Awake “Complete Garden (Eternal Forest Edit)”
- Dubosmium “Tuvadelic Odyssey (7Heavens rmx by Rafiralfiro)” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- Aes Dana “Shouting Valley”
- bubblegone “sometimes i lay in fields at night” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- Taylor Deupree “6 A.M.”
- Krill.Minima “Submarine Poetry”
- Annea Lockwood “floating World: Part 1”
- Janek Schaefer “Alone At Last”
- Akira Kosemura “A Park”
- Keiichi Sugimoto “Tum”
- OTI “Large Open Spaces”
- Maju “Achromatic” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- Mathieu Ruhlmann “Rest”
- Brakhage “Early Morning Frost” [FREE DOWNLOAD]
- Unit 21 “October, 16th” [FREE DOWNLOAD]