
Photo by Raoul Croes on Unsplash
There’s a book sitting on my shelf titled “It’s Only Too Late If You Don’t Start Now.” I don’t how my life will play out. Maybe I’ll die next week in an accident or I’ll have a massive heart attack in my 65th year. Maybe I’ll get some debilitating condition in my 80s. Or I’ll be one of those feisty old ladies who live past 100 and still does volunteer work. None of us knows how it will go.
Here’s what I do know. It would be a heinous crime for me to become consumed with awful what-ifs that may never happen and let that fear waste the time I have left. I have no intention of sitting on the porch to await the death that could come an hour from now or thirty-five years in the future.
When death finds me, I intend to be out living. I have a friend whose father died while he was swimming his morning laps. He was in his mid-90s. He’s my hero. When my time comes I want to be out doing whatever it is I want to do. It may not turn out as well for me, but it is something to aspire to.
Whether my last act is cooking a meal, playing chess, writing online, or riding a bike, I’ll be satisfied as long as I can say I used all 75, 88, 101, or 62 years of my life.
I do have concrete fears. Let’s look at a few worst-case scenarios.
I might have a stroke that makes me unable to talk or take care of myself.
I could run out of money.
I could outlive my loved ones.
I could have a painful death.
I might become a hindrance to my children.
I might lose my memory.
Let’s face it. Any of these things could happen to anyone of us. These are the worries of every single aged person since the dawn of humanity. It’s unlikely to change in the future. Our fears are shared with every other person that did or will walk the planet. In this, we are never alone.
Honestly, there’s nothing we can do about it. There’s only one way to cope with our aging years. Recognize that the future is uncertain. My goal is to live my today to the best of my ability. I might have 30 years left, so I better make some plans and get going. There’s no time to waste.
Comments