Ever heard of “WeCroak,” an app that sends you a push notification reminding you that you’re going to die? I discovered it a few weeks ago. The idea behind the app is a simple one: life is impermanent and you’re better off remembering that fact. The app invites you to contemplate the fact that our life situations are impermanent. Our victories are impermanent. Our suffering is impermanent. All of life is impermanent.

Apparently, it’s been written about at NYT and The Atlantic. And of course, there’s a podcast too.

All of life is impermanent. People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become.

The app costs $0.99 and it does only one thing. Five times a day it reminds me that I’m going to die. That’s it. It sends five push notifications a day. The notification reads, “Don’t forget, you’re going to die. Tap for a quote…” Acting on the notification presents a quote about death/life.

The app doesn’t say why or how contemplating death will help—I assume the authors believe we already have that knowledge.

Once in a while, the app offers quotes that make no sense, but I’m OK with that because I’m at a place in my life where I can contemplate the heck out of anything.

If you’re the meditating kind you will appreciate the app. I know I do.

People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it very simply; by the lives the lead.

James Baldwin
Reference
Maha-satipatthana Sutta: The Great Frames of Reference
Kayagatasati Sutta