Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom (And Whimsy)

Posted on November 20, 2024 under Wednesday’s Words of Wisdom with 2 comments

 

Long may you run.

 

It’s stock taking time in the late innings.

Just about every business that I know is compelled by their accountants to do an annual inventory. It is a time to find out what’s on the shelves. Every item in the store has to be counted in order to get an accurate picture of the business’s financial health. Everything is put under the microscope as it were, so that the accountant can determine the relative health of the business.

When was the last time that you took stock? I’m not talking about your business if you happen to own one. I’m talking about examining your life closely to see how you’re doing at any point in your life. Nobody else is going to do this inventory for you. Remember what our old buddy, Socrates once said: “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

And why, pray tell, am I going all philosophical on you? With 8 days of rain in the forecast, it’s as good a time as any to weigh in on weighty matters.

Obituaries. I see them almost daily which is sobering. None of us wants to die but it is inevitable. For many of us in our golden years, we are looking at an ever-shortening runway. How will we spend our remaining years? Yes, we want to live longer but what about the quality of our life. There’s “lifespan” and “health span”. Why do some people live exceptionally long lives and enjoy good health when the vast majority of old people spend their final years in declining health.

Longevity has been studied to death. Pun intended. There are no magic bullets. There are so many factors that determine our life span, some of which are completely out of our control… like genetics. But luckily, most of us have to power to improve our chances of living longer and healthier lives. Its’s not just about how long you live but how well you live.

A friend of mine recommended a book on this topic. While I have found “Outlive” by Dr. Peter Attia to be much too scientific for my liking, his underlying thesis is powerful. Essentially, we are the sum of our life experiences and what we have done over the decades will have a great influence over how our remaining years might unfold.

Unless we die accidentally, we will in all likelihood succumb to one of the following: heart disease, cancer, neurodegenerative disease (dementia, Alzheimers etc.) or diabetes. Attia refers to these as The Four Horseman. For many, the “die is cast” and it might be too late for the Titanic to avoid the iceberg, but the good news is that it’s never too late to try and optimize one’s chances. I am not going to recommend this book to my loyal readers as you will certainly hate me for the recommendation. Truth be told, I skipped over sections that were too technical.

It would take me far too long to explain the basic precepts, but one thing continued to leap off the pages. “I used to prioritize nutrition over everything else, but I now consider exercise to be the most potent longevity “drug” in our arsenal, in terms of lifespan and healthspan. The data are unambiguous: exercise not only delays actual death but also prevents both cognitive and physical decline, better than any other intervention.” Attia.

I decided to pull out the microscope and closely examine my life. I did a “personal inventory”. I made a list of all the things that I have done over my lifetime (from childhood play like playing pond hockey to walking the Camino) that might increase my longevity and the quality of my life. The list was surprisingly long. I also made a companion list of the things that I have done (and continue to do!) which won’t improve my odds. My dependency on sweets is at the top of that list.

Enough pontificating.

One of the things on my inventory list was music. I won’t drone on about how fundamental music has been to my life and overall happiness. I have tilled this ground numerous times in this space.

Over my lifetime, I have attended dozens and dozens… and dozens, of banquets. Often these affairs were held at the end of business conferences, but I will also include wedding banquets and awards banquets. They all have a similar trajectory. They invariably begin with a cocktail hour. When I was much younger, the cocktail hour set the tone for the evening. You get my drift. You are then seated at a round table with 7 others, preferably of your choosing. The chair of the event makes opening remarks and then salad or soup is served. More speeches. Main course. More speeches. Guest speaker. Dessert. Closing remarks.

Some of you might know the name of Judge Joseph Kennedy. The best and only after dinner speech that I can remember.

I was invited by a friend to attend a 50^th anniversary dinner for a Halifax community choral group last week. See above for the trajectory with two exceptions. Cocktail hour is much more restrained when most of the attendants are north of 70! With the exception of my friend, I didn’t know another soul. I am not known to be shy so that didn’t throw me off in the least. Having to have my trousers let out by a skilled seamstress (Thanks, VN) earlier in the week threw me off a bit. It’s shocking how clothes shrink in the closet!

This might have been my favourite banquet ever. The food was good and the company at my table couldn’t have been better. There is something special about a room full of people who love to sing. There was a warmth that was palpable. At the very end, the choir’s accompanist came up and led the group in a singalong. It was quite a thrill to hear a room filled with joy and four-part harmonies.

“You express, when you sing, your soul in song. And when you get together with a group of other singers, it becomes more than the sum of the parts. All of those people are pouring out their hearts and souls in perfect harmony, which is kind of an emblem for what we need in this world, when so much of the world is at odds with itself… to express, in symbolic terms, what it’s like when human beings are in harmony.” John Rutter, composer and conductor.

Might it be time for you to take stock?

Have a great weekend.