11/1/24
“Time to LOCK IN,” my son declared as he entered the kitchen, seemingly on a mission, ready to plunge into an assignment on his laptop. That’s the Gen Z cue to tune one’s focus for a specific task, in this case pre-calculus homework.
I’m far from fluent in Gen Z lingo, but “lock in” doesn’t require translation. There’s power in this phrase…if taken seriously, it quickly builds discipline in a person by training the brain to become singularly focused.
Certainly, Gen Z, with its tendency to have a short attention span needs this cue, but so too does another specific segment of the population–those needing to feel connected to someone who has died.
Whenever that time arrives for any of us, I am hopeful that we can apply great determination to “lock in.” In this case, the aim of locking in is not about cognition; rather, it’s about locking into the particular energy of the departed.
Sure, this concept may sound “new agey,” but in my estimation there is nothing far fetched or esoteric about one’s energy. When we unpack why we befriend/connect with another being (animals included), it really boils down to alignment with their energy.
I have come to believe that when someone dies, their unique energy still exists in some way. While I can’t provide concrete proof for this theory, I back into it by questioning, “how can the vibrant essence of someone just vanish because their physical body is no longer with us?” It’s not as if one’s energy comes from cells, tissues, and bones, so it must continue in the ether in some fashion.
Ironically, it didn’t require any “locking in” for me to come to this conclusion recently; it was so apparent that no concentration was necessary.
See, two people who were in my life, to very different degrees of closeness, died this past August. They varied greatly in age and they did not overlap in my life in any way, except that they both were extremely vibrant, outgoing, dynamic, and passionate individuals. They both lived “out loud,” making the concept, “life force” not only palpable but also visible.
It’s heartbreaking that they are gone from the world.
And it would be soul crushing if I believed that their incredible energy has left the world too. It was SOOO big and powerful, impossible to contain, that I truly cannot comprehend the idea that such energy could disappear with their bodies.
I’m communicating this idea because although it can be hard to grasp, it is rooted in science (READ: the first law of thermodynamics) and feels appropriate to share when many in the world are observing Day of the Dead.
Admittedly, I am not well versed in the nuances of this holiday, but I do know that its customs and rituals are about connecting with the energy of loved ones who have died. That is why, while the deceased of Day of the Dead observers are likely missed terribly, remembering their vitality calls for joy and celebration.
Just like the earth’s seasons, there is time for deep sadness for those who are gone. When that “season” shifts, we can move into times of locking in to their boundless energy. Just like my son’s pre-calc homework, it’s a mission worth going on that every generation benefits from.
“No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away, until the clock wound up winds down, until the wine she made has finished its ferment, until the crop they planted is harvested. The span of someone’s life is only the core of their actual existence.” –Terry Pratchett