Live Like You’re Already Dead: The Samurai Secret to Radical Freedom and Fully Living
“Live like you’re dying.”
We’ve all heard the phrase.
It’s printed on mugs. Sung in ballads. Whispered in therapy sessions.
And while it sounds noble—deep even—it’s not enough.
Because “live like you’re dying” still makes death the enemy.
It still imagines you have something left to lose.
There’s a deeper path.
A cleaner one.
One the Samurai lived by:
“The way of the warrior is death.”
As a military kid growing up in Yokohama, Japan, I was quietly obsessed with these ancient warriors.
Their silence. Their discipline. The way they moved like the world didn’t own them.
I’d trace their armor through museum glass.
Watch their ghosted outlines flicker across temple walls.
Even as a child, I could feel it—
they weren’t just warriors.
They were already ghosts.
And because of that, they moved with total clarity.
They weren’t afraid of dying.
They had already accepted it.
Which meant there was nothing left to protect.
No hesitation.
No ego.
No wasted time.
Just presence.
My school ID right before we moved back to the U.S. (we were there from the time I was 8 until I was 13) … fun fact - I would go back after high school to teach English for a year while I tried to figure out what to do with the rest of my life
A young Tamara with some beauties on Coming of Age Day (Seijin no Hi, 成人 の 日)
Why “Live Like You’re Dying” Still Keeps You Small
Most people don’t need more time.
They need more truth.
They’re constantly overthinking.
Waiting for readiness.
Delaying their joy and purpose in the name of safety, perfection, or healing.
Here’s the punchline:
You don’t get a refund on the unused parts of your soul.
You don’t get extra time for playing by someone else’s rules.
There’s no prize for dying with your desire still in check.
No trophy for tolerating a life that never fit.
What Happens When You Live Like You’re Already Dead?
You stop performing.
You stop flinching.
You stop explaining who you are to people committed to misunderstanding you.
You touch what you want to touch.
You say what you need to say.
You move with the kind of self-trust that can’t be bought or taught.
You start living like your soul already paid the price—and now you’re here to collect.
This isn’t about being reckless.
It’s about being real.
Clean. Direct. Fully alive.
Healing Is the Beginning—Not the Waitlist
Yes, healing matters.
Tend to your nervous system.
Feel your feelings.
Honor your story.
But don’t turn healing into a waiting room.
You don’t need to be perfect to live.
You just need to stop performing.
Stop apologizing.
Stop outsourcing your freedom to someone else’s timeline.
A Final Note (From One Mortal to Another)
Start now.
Not when you’re braver.
Not when you’re more healed.
Not when the stars align.
Start with one honest decision.
One moment of breath.
One wild move in the direction of your own damn life.
You weren’t made to rehearse it.
You were made to devour it.
Fully.
Feral.
Unapologetic.
Live like you’re already dead.
And let the noise fall away.
Only what matters will remain.
