Daily writing prompt

What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?

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Would I choose a long life? Only if it’s healthy. Would I choose a very long life?

I’m 62 years old, and I am relatively healthy. Not as healthy as I could be; my kidneys are slightly off from some medicine I used to take, and I have a slightly larger heart than I should. I have bipolar disorder. A few medicines keep me in good shape.

I could see myself opting for a longer life. I don’t feel like I’ve lived long enough at this age. I have things I want to do, like retire and write. A few more years would be nice. Thirty or forty? Excellent. A hundred? Let me think about that.

Would I still have a purpose in my second century? I don’t know that I could live without a purpose. And that would depend on how healthy I am. If I spent my advanced years sick and decrepit, I don’t think that I would like to live that long.

The answer to whether I would like a very long life is ‘that depends on how healthy I am, and whether I had a purpose.’

Daily writing prompt

What are your thoughts on the concept of living a very long life?

View all responses

I used to think I wanted to live a lengthy life. As a child, I joked that I wanted to survive to the US’s tricentennial in 2076, so I could help them avoid all the tacky memorabilia I remembered from the bicentennial. I would be 114 in that scenario.

Nowadays, I wonder if living that long would be tenable. I have some kidney damage from a medication I used to take for my bipolar, and I don’t know where that’s going to go as I get older. As it is, I am forbidden from all the good over-the-counter pain meds and a lot of the prescription meds. I’ve got a couple ‘wait and see’ issues in a couple of other places. I don’t want to live a long life if it’s only going to be pain and illness, unless it gives me enough wellness to write and visit with people.

I feel my mortality right now. I’m 61, and I know I will not live forever. I’m fine with it.