Let’s Make a Pact: No One Will Die!

No One Should Die

"Crying is a way your eyes speak when your mouth can't explain how broken your heart is." – Vicki Harrison

You are probably wondering what the heck have I been drinking to come up with a headline like this. Well, celebrating (?) the passing of my grandma, the loss of my husband, and everyone in between has caused me to ponder.

The contemplation? How to stop death!

We all have experienced crying, and I will guess that either by close proximity or through the trending news, has felt death. Crying and death go hand in hand. My heart still breaks 33 years after my grandma's passing, just months before her first great-granddaughter was born. And it still breaks my heart every day, a short 18 months since I lost my husband. Crying and death continue.

However, the personal examination that is taking place is not about death. There is nothing new here. In life, there is death. But I am going to challenge the status quo. It is my mission to stop death! My secondary objective is to turn the tears into laughter.

By now, you are now probably seriously thinking that I need some serious intervention.

Let's take a breath. I know, I know that this is a tough ask and will probably get a lot of pushback, but I want to look at death with a different lens. I know the tears won't go away, but I challenge you, and me to bring death to a brutal stop.

So, the skills we will need to accomplish this is…nothing. We don't need any advanced degrees, don't need to be proficient in a second language, or even be technologically proficient.

We do need to tap into our collective past and dust off the primitive tools that were given to us before there were writing devices.

The minstrels of yesteryear had the magic bullet. Storytellers like Aesop and Homer, to name a few, could be seen in the marketplace telling stories informally. These two famous bards thrilled their audiences with oral tales ranging from the fall of the Trojans to fables such as The Tortoise and the Hare. When peeling back, these compelling stories are values, life lessons, and memories passed on through the ages.

For humans, telling stories is one of the most basic forms of connection to eternal life. We can use songs, poetry, videos, and yes, even a blog to tell stories. This is our opportunity to start having them passed down from generation to generation.

I would like to take credit for this epiphany, but the Egyptians believed that you die twice. Once when you take your final breath, and then again, the last time someone says your name. They believe your spirit lives on as long as people keep remembering you.

I learned about this philosophy not from prolific reading but rather from watching a B-spaghetti western 20 years ago. I don't remember anything from the movie, not even who starred in it, but I remember vividly that one saying, and it stuck with me…when our last breath leaves our body, and when our name is spoken for the last time, is when death really occurs.

David Lavin Eggen and Clifford Michael Lavin

As I take my first step towards not allowing anyone to die is a story about my husband’s, grandpa George Lavin, he was an immigrant whose most prized possession was 2 crystal glasses proudly displayed and gingerly pulled out yearly. Grandpa George died decades earlier, but the tradition of toasting his life lives on. My husband, Cliff Lavin, and his nephew, David Lavin Eggen, continued to honor and remember. This tradition continues as the next generation learns and toasts…Grandpa George, you are still with us. Mission accomplished.

Grandpa George Samuel Lavin

So, I challenge you, and me to use those tears to motivate us to tell those stories, talk about the laughter shared, lessons learned, and legacies passed on.

My wish for you and those you love is that they only die once. We are the storytellers. Tell me the stories you’ll be sharing…