Centenarians.

BBC Article...

I'm not sure I want to live past 100. In all honesty, I've never really imagined myself getting old. I'm very much living in the present and the past but rarely the future. In many ways the future scares me, life is tough (not always, but recently it has been) and I guess it's hard to potentially consider another 80 years of crap. I realise that's quite a pessimistic view and maybe now I'm feeling more hopeful this may change.

I guess it's not necessarily a bad thing to live in the present. I'm enjoying my short term plans and can't wait to get back to university. One day I will be a teacher and from there who knows...

One thing I do know is that I'd rather die when I still know who I am and those I love. It saddens me when I read all of the stories and statistics about Alzheimers, makes me wonder what we're sacrificing through modern medicine and longer life expectancy. Are we *meant* to live that long?

I appreciate the tips the centenarians gave though, they're good for any stage in life in many respects:

- Put others first
- Drink whisky
- Stay curious
- Be an optimist
- Cultivate friendships
- Learn what you can do without
- Do not take yourself too seriously - we are just a drop in the ocean
- Adapt to the times
- Don't let age slow you down
- Do not dwell on the past.

Most of all, I want to make the years I do have count. Today, I went to the thanksgiving service of Arthur-Alfie Generalovs. The tributes given in that service showed just how much of an impact he had in just the past year. When I get to heaven and stand before my God I would be happy to be half the person Arthur was, his faith over the past year has bought so much joy and blessing to so many people.

I look forward to the documentary mentioned in the article, maybe I'll add more to this after...

TTFN x

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