OK...random thoughts up ahead...trying to write to keep rust from building up.
So I was thinking...and realized that most of us today kind of take it for granted that our eventual goal would be to live as long as we can. It doesn't matter what we do with it, the important thing is that we get to live longer. With this expectation, some of us try really hard to have a healthy lifestyle (eat organic or "go green", take up yoga, etc.), buy various types of insurance (think life and medical), invest in retirement funds and so on - all with the thought of preparing for old age (be it for their family or otherwise).
Then there are others who take life as it comes by without much thoughts whether it's going to end the next day or the next decade - who wants to worry about things like this when it's really not in our control, right? That would be too negative a thought to ponder upon. You might even ask why in the world I'm writing these sort of things on my blog. Like I said, random thoughts :)
As I was chatting with a few friends over dinner on Friday night, we broach the subject from a different angle by asking the question "How long do we think we get to live?" It was a asked in a lighthearted way, mind you. Although it did kind of put things into a different perspective for me. Is living till we are in our 70s or 80s really that important?
Having lived three decades of my life already, if I can reach sixty, i.e. another thirty years of life - wouldn't that already be a great gift? I could be living another "lifetime" or so to speak. Of course, I haven't achieved much in life yet, and certainly no legacy to leave behind, but I have by and large, enjoyed the last three decades.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that, "Hey, I got another 30 years to work on!" (Or so I hope I would have that long to live) - so instead of taking life for granted, perhaps I should assume I only have another thirty years to go and really set out to achieve something within that time (let's worry about the retirement fund later). Because I might not live past sixty to begin with. There is a saying that we should live everyday as if it's our last. Well, it's easier said than done - so perhaps I'll think that the next thirty will be my last.
This is if I don't have a family and then the only reason for hanging around is to provide for them and to ensure everyone is doing alright. Perhaps it's a little bit of a selfish thought right now and I'm sure the above perspective will change again when other considerations comes into play i the future. But for now, I just found it interesting to look at all this from a different light.
So I was thinking...and realized that most of us today kind of take it for granted that our eventual goal would be to live as long as we can. It doesn't matter what we do with it, the important thing is that we get to live longer. With this expectation, some of us try really hard to have a healthy lifestyle (eat organic or "go green", take up yoga, etc.), buy various types of insurance (think life and medical), invest in retirement funds and so on - all with the thought of preparing for old age (be it for their family or otherwise).
Then there are others who take life as it comes by without much thoughts whether it's going to end the next day or the next decade - who wants to worry about things like this when it's really not in our control, right? That would be too negative a thought to ponder upon. You might even ask why in the world I'm writing these sort of things on my blog. Like I said, random thoughts :)
As I was chatting with a few friends over dinner on Friday night, we broach the subject from a different angle by asking the question "How long do we think we get to live?" It was a asked in a lighthearted way, mind you. Although it did kind of put things into a different perspective for me. Is living till we are in our 70s or 80s really that important?
Having lived three decades of my life already, if I can reach sixty, i.e. another thirty years of life - wouldn't that already be a great gift? I could be living another "lifetime" or so to speak. Of course, I haven't achieved much in life yet, and certainly no legacy to leave behind, but I have by and large, enjoyed the last three decades.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that, "Hey, I got another 30 years to work on!" (Or so I hope I would have that long to live) - so instead of taking life for granted, perhaps I should assume I only have another thirty years to go and really set out to achieve something within that time (let's worry about the retirement fund later). Because I might not live past sixty to begin with. There is a saying that we should live everyday as if it's our last. Well, it's easier said than done - so perhaps I'll think that the next thirty will be my last.
This is if I don't have a family and then the only reason for hanging around is to provide for them and to ensure everyone is doing alright. Perhaps it's a little bit of a selfish thought right now and I'm sure the above perspective will change again when other considerations comes into play i the future. But for now, I just found it interesting to look at all this from a different light.
