“When I’m 74”
OMG, I’m turning 74 tomorrow! Yikes!! I can hardly believe it. Here’s a candid check-in with myself as to how it feels:
These are the best years of my life. I am active and fully functional; have a strong, flexible, and healthy body; and have an outlook and attitude that supports a robust later life. I really like the person I am now and how I live. My life is full of as much time and freedom as I can manage. I have so far avoided any major health problems. Any minor injuries or discomforts are usually the result of pushing myself too hard and/or not allowing for enough recovery time. These wonderful and healthy “extra” years are a bonus beyond anything I could have imagined when I started the journey I describe in my book, A Life Yet to Live.
As importantly, I’ve learned resources, inside and out, for when I get stuck and don’t like myself and my life as much as I could to help me evolve through these physical and emotional episodes. I don’t look young anymore, but by most measures I am able to do all the things I’ve always been able to and live life in a youthful, engaging way, if I choose to.
However, I’m finding that I choose not to engage in many of the “pass the time or keep myself busy” pursuits I used to, but instead pursue a path that has been opening up more and more in these later-life years, one of deeper engagement with myself and others. It is not everyone’s choice. Yet having the freedom to choose how you spend your time at this stage of life is what my health journey is all about.
I see many people, my age and younger, who are not nearly as fit or healthy as I am, or who are leading lives that increase their risk of lower mobility and/or disease as they age. My reaction to these are twofold: First, I am grateful to have found the path I’m on, and second, my hope is for them to find their own path to better health. (See the article in this issue, Your Health and Life Begin with YOU.) That being said, my life is atypical and unconventional for my age bracket, which sometimes brings different dynamics my way, some of which are the subjects of these posts.
In my now 16-year commitment to later-life health and longevity, I have gained a kind of wisdom that wasn’t part my mission to stay healthy and active when I first started this journey. That wisdom has come as a bonus from inside me. It is the same timeless wisdom I read about, that many creative and religious figures have gained through contemplation and wonder about their own true nature as well as the world around them. I say I have gained it as if it is something new. But what has really happened is that I have discovered it has been there all along. I have simply removed the blinders, learned how to see it, experience it, and appreciate it. It already lives within all of us.
Say what you will about this “ripe old age,” I am finding that more than anything outside of me and my circumstances of life, the life inside of me has a bigger effect on the day-to-day quality of my experience in life. By inside I mean my physical health as well as the emotional energy my body, heart, mind, and belief bring to my life. When things “click”, which is increasingly common, it is truly joyous.
I spend most days doing what matters to me, whether that is spending time with my daughters, staying active and eating healthily, staying curious and filled with the wonder and mystery of life and existence, or experiencing and contemplating life with as much freedom and as little judgment as I am able to bring to bear.
And yes, I am not quite as fit as I once was. I can still do special things I once did, but recovering from the effort takes longer and requires more healing than it used to. In fact, I recently came face-to-face with this realization during, and after, a ski trip with my daughters. (You can read about this in the “Taking My Daughters – and My 73-year-old Knees Skiing” article.) As a younger man, I could focus almost solely on fully participating in an activity. Today, my focus leans as heavily toward recovery.
I can no longer take quick recovery for granted. Keeping this restorative part of me strong is my major health task, for it is the true source of life within me, the part of me that maintains, heals, and rebuilds (see Your Immune System Saves Your Life Every Day article). Supporting this life force with as much good nutrition, movement, rest, learning and passion for life as I can is now my number-one task, so I can extend the healthy and active years of my life for as long as possible and continue to live the wonderful life I live every day, at age 74 and well beyond!
