Does a meaningful life require confronting death, or can we live fully while never really thinking about it? I ask because my grandfather, 84, talks about mortality almost daily since my grandmother died last spring, and he seems more present than ever. Meanwhile I've spent years avoiding the topic entirely and would honestly say I'm happy. Then I read Ernest Becker's argument that denying death quietly shapes most of what we do, and I wondered if my avoidance is peace or just distraction. Curious whether you think mortality awareness is necessary for a life to count as philosophical.