The concept is simple. You get a log or a long and narrow stick (call it a totem, an amulet, the staff of life, whatever) and every year, throughout your life , on your birthday you hammer a nail into it. And at the end of your life, if you wish, you can have it stuck on your grave, if you care to have one, and do away with crosses, stars, crescents and whatnot. Patent Pending.