Lifespan

As I was doing my maintenance workout yesterday at a local gym, I happened to make eye contact with a young man who may have been 30 years old. He was apparently, judging from his expression, curious about this 62-year-old's persistence at staying functionally fit. He nervously looked away at my notice. I understood.

Three decades ago, I may have been that young man. I recall thinking of men in their 60s as a different species from myself. I did not think that those older men had once been as young and vital as I was then. I knew they had been, in an intellectual sense, but I did not make it a habit to bring that intellectual understanding into my relationships, or lack of relationships, with them. It was too frightening, I suppose. To admit to myself then that those older bodies represented my own inevitable future was to admit my own mortality and ultimate helplessness in the face of Time. It was easier to live with my delusion of invulnerability to the changes of aging.

The three decades since I was 30-something have passed quickly. They have been full. However, like the most exquisitely satisfying meal, personal history, no matter how colorful or joyful, is eventually a digested memory. I am now left with the very present recognition of how quickly the remainder of my life will pass.

I like to share this recognition with the young. This is generally a fruitless exercise. It's all about differing hormones and brain chemistry, I suppose. More often then not, old folks convey the vapid message of "Enjoy your youth while you can." This isn't how I see it. I would like to help young people to understand that the practices they adopt now will be their future wealth or future ruin. It would be my hope that some would consider developing a practice which is centered in health, mindfulness and compassion, rather than a practice of conformity, materialism and hedonism.