My Last Day As 69

As I experience my last day as 69-years-old, I have a suggestion.

Today is my last day walking the face of the planet as 69-years-old. Tomorrow I turn 70.

70 is a big number. For some reason it feels like a major milestone. I don’t know why. I feel much like I did a year ago, or five years ago. Sure, there are a few more body creaks here and there, but I’m lucky to be in rather good health.

My schedule today is a light one. That’s allowed me to spend some time reflecting on my life and where I want to go from here. For whatever reason, I’m not someone who wallows too much in past remembrances except insofar as I’m able to learn from them. For me, that’s the trick. Recall and reflect on the past, but don’t get stuck there. Learn from it and move on.

So, what have I learned. Rather than write too much here, I’ll first point you to a post on my Musings from a Curious Mind newsletter page, “Turning 67,” which has remained the most popular on that page since it was published in July 2021. In that post I recount many of the things I’ve learned to date. I stand by all those thoughts still today.

The real reason I started to pen this post is to offer a few things I believe people my age have a right to offer as some semblance of wisdom. One can read wisdom in books. One can have bestowed upon them wisdom from gurus and spiritual leaders. But nothing replaces the wisdom garnered from walking upon the planet for a while and dealing with its ups and downs.

But I write here today to offer another bit of advice. Well, not advice really. Advice connotes that I want to encourage you to do something specific and all I want to do is offer an observation and suggest you consider it when thinking about your own life. Here it is.

Do what it takes to live the life you truly want to live.

Sounds simplistic. What do I mean by that?

If I can point to any one thing that’s moved my life ahead in the most positive of directions it’s that I take experienced and informed counsel well but ultimately I try to make my decisions my decisions influenced as little as possible but what others want me to do.

When it comes to the career you want, do whatever resonates with you that still pays the bills.

When it comes to your relationships, bond with the people who bring you the most joy, and don’t be constrained by the societal expectations of the heterosexual monogamous lifetime my-one-and-only Hollywoodized relationships model. Make lots of friends and don’t rely on just one relationship to sustain you.

When it comes to your material stuff, cherish those physical things that bring you joy and ease, but don’t be taken in by the consumer-driven marketing machine that will forever dangle new things in front of you hoping you’ll pay money to get them.

When it comes to your philosophy and beliefs, think for yourself and don’t take the word of a spiritual or religious perspective. The only internal life that matters is that one that you ascribe to in order to make sense of the world as best you can.

I want to keep this post short so I’ll stop with specifics, but please take to heart my suggestion to try with all your might to let your life unfold in ways you decide rather than the ways family, friends, or society at large expects you to.

Conformity is the path to banality. Perhaps it’s sometimes comfortable, but it gets really boring living the life others ways you to live. Take it from the guy about to turn 70, living the life you truly want to live will ultimately bring you far more joy and fulfillment than simply marching to the beat of someone else’s drum.

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