Thursday, July 22, 2004
What is it about the fear of aging that dominates our society these days? It seems to be a trendy feeling that has permeated every element of industry. Health care has become a life elongation business, or so the commercials imply. The Vancouver paper is riddled with ads for botox, surgery, teeth bleaching and natural herbal solutions to 'looking good', in other words, younger. Is this a good idea?
Wrinkles tell stories about a person's face. Laugh lines are a testament to vitality. Skin sagging, well, I'll positively attribute that to sun worship - a wonderful way to spend a day. Don't get me wrong, I think that fitness and diet is incredibly important as the years go by - as a means to more physical tests of stamina. What I mean is the current idea that looking older isn't hip (and nearly unacceptable), is detrimental to thought and positive self-esteem. I dislike that I now think about the sun ruining my skin. What do I care? I want to live in the sun, at whatever the cost. Sure, I put on sunscreen, but being in the sun isn't sacrificed as a result of hopefully looking young and fresh now and/or later.
A guy like Ernest Hemingway wasn't thinking about crap like that. He was hopeful that he would make it through to the next day in one piece. What advantage is there to living a longer life? Hem would say it is wonderful (maybe even necessary) to be a matador or an old man alone at sea, fighting for his life against the greatest fish. He knew what mattered: experience. Experience that includes the attainment of scars, bellowing, drunken laughter, challenge to defy rules needing to be broken, and intense, rare love.
Live long or live large?
Only one exception is acceptable: Live large for a long time.
Wrinkles tell stories about a person's face. Laugh lines are a testament to vitality. Skin sagging, well, I'll positively attribute that to sun worship - a wonderful way to spend a day. Don't get me wrong, I think that fitness and diet is incredibly important as the years go by - as a means to more physical tests of stamina. What I mean is the current idea that looking older isn't hip (and nearly unacceptable), is detrimental to thought and positive self-esteem. I dislike that I now think about the sun ruining my skin. What do I care? I want to live in the sun, at whatever the cost. Sure, I put on sunscreen, but being in the sun isn't sacrificed as a result of hopefully looking young and fresh now and/or later.
A guy like Ernest Hemingway wasn't thinking about crap like that. He was hopeful that he would make it through to the next day in one piece. What advantage is there to living a longer life? Hem would say it is wonderful (maybe even necessary) to be a matador or an old man alone at sea, fighting for his life against the greatest fish. He knew what mattered: experience. Experience that includes the attainment of scars, bellowing, drunken laughter, challenge to defy rules needing to be broken, and intense, rare love.
Live long or live large?
Only one exception is acceptable: Live large for a long time.
