Here’s the part that connects to your morning coffee: every person alive right now is part of an unbroken chain of life that stretches back to that first death. We are all descendants of survivors who kept going.
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Death isn’t something to fear—it’s the ultimate equalizer. Whether you’re a Sumerian accountant or a modern freelancer, your end will come. But the story of how you lived can echo far beyond your last breath.
So the next time you sign a receipt, send an email, or scribble in a notebook, remember Kushim. He didn’t conquer empires. He just tracked barley. And we still talk about him 5,000 years later.
Practical Tip for Today
Write a short note to yourself right now. Something like, “I exist. I ate breakfast. I was here.” That’s the kind of record that might outlast your phone. Bonus points if you mention what you ate—future historians will thank you.
And if you’re feeling philosophical, ask a friend: “Who was the first person you ever loved?” Because while death is universal, love is the thing that makes life worth dying for.
So, to answer the original question: the first person to die was Kushim (or Abel, if you prefer poetry). But the real answer is that every single one of us will eventually share that fate. The question isn’t who died first—it’s who lives fully now.
