When the brothers of Yosef Hatzaddik were brought into his palace, the passuk tells us, they were very afraid, suspecting that they were about to be put in prison due to the money that had been replaced in their sacks, after paying for the grain on their first visit to Mitzrayim. The Noam Elimelech explains the words of the passuk, “Vayiru anashim ki huv’u beis Yosef,” as referring to ehrliche Yidden who are afraid as they are about to enter the next world, and who say, “al-devar hakesef ... anachnu muva’im lehisgolel aleinu —because of all the longing we had for the good things of this world, we are going to suffer now...”
The Noam Elimelech explains that this is generally the mark of ehrliche Yidden — they always have in mind the ultimate goal of life and the accounting they will have to give for their days in this world. Therefore, they live in a constant state of teshuvah, regretting their aveiros and resolving to improve their ways.
The idea of remembering that our days are limited can also be helpful in relating well to our loved ones. As Harav Avigdor Miller ztz”l would say, one day, after years of bickering and complaints, you’re going to come home to an empty house and wish that you could be given another chance to say sorry or thank you, to appreciate, to compliment... but it’s too late. How much better to live with the awareness that every day could be the last and to make the most of all its opportunities.
You often see the gravestones of husband and wife next to one another, sometimes with an inscription that “in life and death they were not parted.” Of course that’s not true, because they were technically parted by death, and sometimes sadly in life too. Instead, we can use each day of life to be together, to give a smile, a compliment, a word of praise — and to stay connected.
