“You are encouraged to take one moment for contemplation, conscious breathing or meditation when WeCroak notifications arrive. We find that a regular practice of contemplating mortality helps spur needed change, accept what we must, let go of things that don’t matter and honor things that do.’”
– WeCroak
I have only purchased one app for my phone. I find cell phones to be a necessary nuisance, helpful enough that I keep one, annoying enough that I keep it on silent. I don’t bemoan or resent anyone who has finally found love with their device. I get it. I just find it terribly distracting to the notes of life that I want to pay attention to. Then a friend forwarded me an article on a mobile app called WeCroak. I immediately realized I had been introduced to the perfect app.
The gist is this, after handing over a buck to WeCroak, you download the app and then five times a day you receive the following notification:
Don’t forget, you’re going to die.
Five times a day. The only other feature beyond this mortal reminder is that when you tap on the reminder, a quote appears from a poet, philosopher, author, etc, such as:
‘Let me respectfully remind you: Life and Death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. On this night, the days of our life are decreased by one. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed! Do not squander your life.’ (Evening Gatha)
My guest today is one of the creators of the WeCroak app, Hansa Bergwall. Hansa runs a PR agency and is a poet. Our conversation runs the gamut of from Hansa’s inspiration for WeCroak to quotes from RuPaul and Stoic Philosophers on death and impermanence, why I find this app to be most helpful in work meetings, and we try to crack the code why most of the users of WeCroak are under 35.
You can learn more about WeCroak at wecroak.com and follow Hansa on Twitter (@buzznature).
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EPISODE SHOW NOTES
Resources Mentioned
- ‘Buddha’ by Hansa Bergwall
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville
- Paradise Lost by John Milton
- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
- Untitled Kabi poem (found on page 36 of Kabir: Ecstatic Poems versions by Robert Bly)
People
- RuPaul
- Ian Thomas
- William Blake
- Soren Kierkegaard
- Marcus Aurelius
- Epictetus
- Kabir
- Ursula K. Le Guin
- Emily Dickinson
- Frida Kahlo
Highlights
- I just discovered today that you are a poet, can you share one of your poems with us?
- What was the religious or spirituality you grew up with?
- How did the passing of your mother shape you?
- I recently just recommended WeCroak to all of the folks on the monthly Contemplify NonRequired Reading List, but for those who are unaware, what inspired this app what exactly does it do?
- How did you go from this idea to the WeCroak app?
- What is your relationship to all of these quotes?
- Is there one quote the encapsulates WeCroak?
- How do you track down all of the quotes?
- How do you respond to WeCroak being the anti-app?
- One of the things I like about WeCroak is that I’ll be sitting in a meeting, wonder what the point of it all is, and then I get a little reminder, “Don’t forget, you are gonna die.’ It changes my attitude in the meeting immediately, either focus and participate fully or push to end it. That alone is incredibly valuable. Have you heard other stories by users, or maybe your own, where the WeCroak reminder has jump started the day or focus in a new way?
- You have said somewhere that most users are under 35, why do you think that is?
- What would you say is your primary contemplative practice?
- If someone were going to teach a class on the formation of Hansa Bergwall what 3 works that formed you would definitely be on that syllabus?
- If you were going to pair our conversation with a drink, what drink would that be?
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