Toward your latter paragraphs, I am reminded of the medieval practice of reflection on mortality, <i>momento mori</i> [0]. There is a great deal of extant architecture and art meant to inspire one to meditate on the subject, for example the <i>Capela dos Ossos</i> in Portugal, whose entrance bears the phrase <i>Nós ossos que aqui estamos pelos vossos esperamos</i> (&quot;We bones that here are, for yours await&quot;) [1], and the imagery in Pieter Bruegel the Elder&#x27;s painting <i>The Triumph of Death</i> [2]. It&#x27;s unfortunate that, despite the amount of rich Western thought dedicated to such contemplations, popular modern literature, as you observe, seems at least generally averse to the subject.<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Memento_mori" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Memento_mori</a><p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Capela_dos_Ossos" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Capela_dos_Ossos</a><p>[2] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;The_Triumph_of_Death" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;The_Triumph_of_Death</a>