MEMENTO MORI

Death and its inevitability are something we avoid to the point of denial. We go about our days as if we will live forever. But we will not. At some point we all will die.

Though a morbid thought, we have the choice to live each moment of our lives to the best of our abilities. To choose positive thoughts over negative ones. To look for the good in life instead of constantly complaining about things we are unable to change. Things are as they are. And if we can change them, then we should. If not, then we accept that fact and move on.

When Depeche Mode announced ‘Memento Mori’, almost five months after the death of their bandmate, there was both excitement and sadness. Excitement in being able to hear more of their music. Sadness in knowing a founding member died and that this is quite possibly their last album and concert tour.

‘You should go’, my son told me when I told him of the concert tour.

Curiosity was prompting me to wonder what it would be like to see them again. The last time seeing them in concert was almost ten years ago. In both Dublin and Glasgow. As soon as the concert dates and locations were announced, I wondered how I could make this work. Since I planned to go on vacation to Europe with the children this summer, I had to fit that into our schedule.

Ticketmaster showed unavailable tickets for one location. A location I planned to visit with my middle daughter. I kept checking and continued planning our trip. Until one night when resale tickets showed as available. It was a matter of patience, and perhaps a bit of luck, to finally get the tickets to see them. Now I could begin planning the first trip around that date. This time sharing the experience with my teenage daughter.

From the words of their new song ‘Ghosts Again’, the video having debuted today, ‘time is fleeting, see what it brings’.