As children we never see the long view of life. A long time is just a few years away. The “Left Handed Dictionary” describes old as 15 years older than I am…and it’s true.
All too often when a person dies, you hear people say “well, they had a good life” or “they had a long life”. But was it truly a long life, or just a perceived long life?
People in the Bible truly lived a long – very long – life of several hundred years. Did they truly live that long or was it a math thing where time and years was calculated differently???
During Shakespeare’s time, a person was considered old if they managed to live to the age of 50; many never even made it to 40. ”Romeo and Juliet” were barely teens and were contemplating marriage. the story itself may be fictional, but it was the sign of the times – 15 to 20 was “middle age”.
Thanks to any number of medical and technological advances, humans today can easily survive well into their 90’s and even that long though elusive century mark.
Living a very long time can be beneficial for any number of reasons from helping family members to completing projects started long ago but were left unfinished because “life” got in the way. And then there’s simply enjoying life itself and the beauty that surrounds us.
Jewish and Native American cultures believe that it is the responsibility of the elders to pass on what they know to the younger ones. If there were no elders living a long life, who would be there to pass on the centuries of accumulated knowledge?
I am as the saying goes, no longer a spring chicken and certainly in some circles I am considered old; but for me age is simply a number – a representation of how long I have been a living part of this planet. I plan on continuing my life as it has been for as long as I can continue to do so; not worrying about marking the days.
From the day we are born, we have a finite time upon this planet and begin to die; how long that takes is not in our hands. Just exactly whose hands depends on person belief.
On “Star Trek” Mr. Spock – a Vulcan whose lifespan is said to be over 200 years – greets and takes his leave from people with “Live Long and Prosper” – a noble sentiment to be sure.