THE ENDING OF LIVING
How old do you think you will be when you die? Anyone over the age of 40 has probably thought of this, even if we do not want to admit it. There is that point in your living when you begin to accept that living is not forever. This has been a major question in all of humanity. And the quest for that fountain of youth still persists. We do not want to leave this place we have come to enjoy, even if it is painful.
Enjoying the pain is a contradiction, and we do not like those paradoxes. For some, the pain is the only way they know they are alive, and for some the pain is too much and they end their time. Always a possibility. We, at least most of us, recoil at the thought of ending our living voluntarily. Life is to be valued and extended, not cut short. But, at what point, do we begin to wonder if we have been here long enough.
Just read an article where it was professed that living to 75 was enough. An interesting point. Is there a cut off time? The point is not to present some established age that is “acceptable” to live to, but to question our quest for longevity. It is quality versus quantity. And, of course, the best of all alternatives, is to have both. A long life of health and mental acuity is wonderful. The fact is, we will all not get there. And is that ok?
As I approach that 75 mark, I do realize that I notice my aging much more. I seem to still be capable of writing essays that are coherent, at least to me!! But, we humans have not used our dying in the most beneficial way. That we will not be here forever is a blessing. It keeps you focused on the moments of your living. And that is the only place that quality exists and can be created.
Unfortunately, our human society has proclaimed and proffered, that the outcome of living is more important than the process of living. The outcome is what you leave behind, what you have accomplished, what marks you have made on the world, how much money you have accumulated, etc. Outcome is an illusion, desired and created, by those who never learned to live.
Life is an ongoing process that never ends, even if we do. Learning to embrace and experience that process to its fullest, is far more important that what you leave behind in terms of outcomes. Outcomes are always the creation of the mind, not of your actual existence. To think that a being in some remote village, who lives a life of peace and tranquility, without ever making “history” is less important than some Nobel Prize winner, NO MATTER WHAT that prize is, is to miss life itself.
Life is not a contest. Life is not a competition. Life is not a comparison. Life is not a judgement. Life it a gift to each of us, to be experienced, as best we can, in the moment. Not in the bias and coloring of our past, but as we meet the day. And if you learn to live that way, your living is beyond all those great accomplishments. And when you come to your end, you will softly slip away. Knowing that I spent my time as best I could. I was present to my living and age does not matter. Tlane 3/6/17
I read that article today. It is a question that most of us ask. For me, it all depends on health. I am 76, and believe that I I have some good years left.
Hi Tom….
Hi Judy, nice to hear from you. Yes, there is certainly no “one size fits all” in terms of years of living..
Except for rushing it or (possibly) retarding it, I look at my death as an event others will be forced deal with, not I. I won’t even know it happened.