For years family and friends (of whom I have few these days. I mostly gave up "my buddies" when I gave up drinking and smoking back before the turn of the century. Many of the good ones are gone now due to age and/or self-abuse.) have asked "How are you? Are you doing alright?" Like most folks I usually replied with the obligatory "Yeah, I'm doing fine."
But, the fact is, I am not doing fine. I have a terminal illness. There is no cure and, despite science's best efforts, there never will be. I've had it since birth and it has been progressing slowly over all these past decades. It's called aging and the more we age the more terminal the illness.
That is why I've been practicing palliative care since retirement in 2006. In this, its final stage, it is called old age! So, though I may be condemned for trying to lead a carefree, toil-free life in my youth, I feel entirely justified doing little to nothing in my later years other than trying to make myself as comfortable as possible.
A lifetime of observations has taught me there is no greater purpose in life other than to live it. If you can help someone else have a better life along the way all the better; But, building empires, amassing fortunes, becoming champions, and conquering the world is of no real value in the grand scheme of things. We all inevitably fall prey to Father Time.
But, the fact is, I am not doing fine. I have a terminal illness. There is no cure and, despite science's best efforts, there never will be. I've had it since birth and it has been progressing slowly over all these past decades. It's called aging and the more we age the more terminal the illness.
That is why I've been practicing palliative care since retirement in 2006. In this, its final stage, it is called old age! So, though I may be condemned for trying to lead a carefree, toil-free life in my youth, I feel entirely justified doing little to nothing in my later years other than trying to make myself as comfortable as possible.
A lifetime of observations has taught me there is no greater purpose in life other than to live it. If you can help someone else have a better life along the way all the better; But, building empires, amassing fortunes, becoming champions, and conquering the world is of no real value in the grand scheme of things. We all inevitably fall prey to Father Time.