At a dinner party the other night I noticed there is almost a competition, bragging in a sad way about whose dog or cat lives the longest. Like, it’s some feat, or fate, we have a hand in. Age as an accomplishment is not new. To be fair, I think some of that with animals is simply our fear and the mystery of living so intimately with someone whose life is in your hands, in many ways.
I’m going to try to stop thinking in terms of age. If you hear me referring to myself as old, please remind me that old as in what reference point, from the time I was born, or moments, inches, seconds away from It – the old stopwatch click. so I don’t really know. I could be the very oldest (seconds from death) possible, or I could be middle aged (live to be 100). We all just going along until we’re done. There is no middle age either. Middle age is 13 for some people. Less, for others.
Time to get my beauty rest.
"Hi, I live for 24 hours. But I don't know how to count so I'll never know when the end is near. Lucky, I guess."
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I think that “bragging” about longevity, whether it’s our pets or ourselves, is part of how we hope to cheat mortality. Life is so precious and so brief, we are vulnerable to such a number of accidents and near-misses, that there’s a bravado about making it through. I think that goes for our animals, too. Not far beneath the veneer of our psychologized civilization rests superstition and we have only primitive methods to face it. That said, hooray for today even if it’s the 24th hour!
Comment by Sue — January 17, 2010 @ 11:51 pm
Well said Sue. Thanks for adding to the thought
Comment by Wendy Wahman — January 18, 2010 @ 7:31 am
Our mind thinks of death.
Our heart thinks of life
Our soul thinks of Immortality.
By: Sri Chinmoy
Comment by Ken Bailey — January 18, 2010 @ 2:48 pm
I agree I hit middle age at 11!! I had to be the grown up in a bad house hold and damn it I just like being a kid now!! Thank god I am going backwards in time!!! : ) Keep being silly and after reading this I dare u to go moon Joe !!
Comment by barb — January 21, 2010 @ 1:30 pm