Life lessons from a dead language

Glenn Harper

Gloria Towne | All Around Towne Photography

It has been said that there’s nothing new under the sun. I disagree with that statement in that there are unprecedented technologies creating new problems and possibilities.

However, we are pretty much the same fallible, fragile, mortal beings as those individuals who walked the Earth 2,000 years ago. The future of all living creatures has always been uncertain, though death is not. 

As the opening line of the "Days of Our Lives" soap opera said, “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives." Now that the top half of the hourglass is emptying, faster and faster it seems, we could use the ancient reminder "tempus fugit" (time flies). If we’re not attentive, days turn to years and opportunities and options are lost to us. 

Enter "carpe diem" (pluck the day). Although it’s more often translated “seize the day," I prefer the literal translation better. Plucking carries a sense of a gentle harvest, while seizing seems aggressive and violent in comparison. If you seize the day too aggressively, with both hands round its neck, you may frighten it and it may bite you. 

"Memento mori" (remember you will die), and "memento vivere" (remember to live), are the opposite sides of life’s tightrope walk. Can we hold the idea that we are only leasing this body for a limited time with grace and gratitude for the time we’ve been given without giving into despair?

"Dum vivimus, vivamus" is a Latin phrase that translates to "while we live, let us live." If we’re still inhabiting a body, let’s try to fully inhabit it, enjoy it, and use it to the extent we still can. Enjoy a good meal, a sunset, the smell of fresh air in the forest, the warmth of a smile or hug, the purr of a cat, or the wag of a dog’s tail.

Our human experience is incredibly rare and unique as far as telescopes can see into the vastness of space. The journey in this body is a brief flash in an infinity of time on both sides. Whether it’s unfolding to your delight, or horrible suffering, "hoc quoque transibit" (This too shall pass).

"Vita enim mortuorum in memoria est posita vivorum" (The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living). A person truly remains alive as long as people remember them, talk about them, and keep their legacy in their hearts. Physical life ends, but the impact and memory of a person lingers in the minds of family and friends. 

 I feel like diminishment in the importance of legacy among our ruling class is at the heart of the erosion of decency we see in today’s world. As a boy, I wanted to be like Washington, Franklin, Lewis and Clark, Daniel Boone, Davey Crockett, etc.

Flawed men to be sure, but they had the courage of their convictions and their stories inspire service to something larger than one’s self. There is an ancient and natural desire to leave behind a story worth the retelling. It likely has some survival value for our species. 

 I think the founders and authors of the Constitution could not imagine a ruling class of men without regard for their personal honor, or their duty to their country and history.

Now, powerful men with no principles, apart from "He who dies with the most toys wins," are trying to sell us an AI utopia providing for everyone, while they exploit and poison our shared natural world to grow personal fortunes.  

"Caveat emptor" (Let the buyer beware ).

 Coming events in the Elderhood 

Twosdays at Tumwater Falls – Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. 
Join our free gathering of elders at Tumwater Falls to take the air and shoot the breeze. Click here for details. 

Death Cafe at Olympia Senior Center – Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 2 p.m.
Join us for a lively discussion about death at our regular Death Cafe on second Wednesdays of the month. Click here for details. 

Memory Cafe MyMedSupplies in Lacey – Thursday, Oct. 15 at 2 p.m.
Join us for a free informal get together of people experiencing, or supporting someone with memory loss. No diagnosis required, everyone welcome. Click here for details. 

Please feel free to leave comments below or email me at glenn@thejoltnews.com. 

Glenn Harper provides support in aging and end of life. He is Chair of the Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council and board member of the Senior Action Network. He facilitates several free Death Cafe and Elderhood Roundtable gatherings in the area where Elders are invited to talk about difficult topics in a nonjudgmental space. Learn more about these events here.