[Nick]

The way I have come to see death is that it is the force of change. All knowledge has death as its central motivator because every bit of knowledge gained changes us. Every time we learn something new from direct experience we die and are reborn.
That is why warriors use death as their advisor. Death actually tells us that we are alive because we are constantly changing. Hardship results in fighting against change, fighting against death through fear.
Death/change is all around. To embrace death is to truly live.