When I Die

A life well lived should contain some fear along the way, but no regrets. Regret means that I didn’t quite get the concept of acceptance of myself, and let fear dominate my life. I don’t “have to” have some risk and novelty and interest in my life. I am not forced to do anything. I choose to. Every day I make that choice.

Maybe we feel that we don’t have enough information to make good decisions. No fool would jump out of an airplane without a parachute. But given one, and instruction, and practice at lower elevations, we might jump out of that plane, were we inclined. If we have a parachute, instruction and practice, and want to jump and still don’t, the consequence will be regret. Which is a loose translation of: what could have been.

If we fear looking stupid, if no one we know has done this whatever thing it is that we want to do, if we are going to have to go it alone, if everyone says we’re crazy to start a new business, learn a foreign language at our age (whatever that is), or take up line dancing………..if we give in to that thinking, we will have regrets. What might have been. That business may succeed wildly, we may travel to that foreign country, we may move more because of line dancing, thus insuring aging mobility. And we might have had a great time trying something new. Laughing out loud great time.

When I die, I want to be used up. I want to look slightly ragged, clothes askew, like I have had an interesting and eventful life. I want to slide into my grave with one shoe off, missing some lipstick, and hear someone say, “There was a life well lived.”

That’s Aging Intelligently.