Three Hundred Years

Unlike those of the fictional Phil Conners, my years are advancing as fast as you might think (and yes, I still have to floss). At work I'm heading into "distinguished" territory, although I seem to be making about the same number of mistakes (yeah!), but many of those repeat ones (boo!). At home, I feel like I'm marking time, waiting for external triggers, paused (by my own character choices) but not blocked, and I just don't see that I have a lot of time to waste. None of us do....

Today's news brought not only the death of the infamous Roger Ailes (77), but also "Soundgarden" singer Chris Cornell (52); while the group's music does nothing for me (my current infatuation is the group "Ebanos de la Habana" -- Youtube for Laura Calderin's "Alborado y Son" and "Arsis"), dying at that early age, and as a suicide, seems tragedy. I've learned so much since I was a callow fifty-two.

That last brings me to this topic. Some periods of my life were exploration (of self & the world), some were pleasure (the women of my Twenties), some were mistakes repeated (marijuana long ago gave me temporary escape, but also dulled my ambition of those years), but the best were learning (like now). I'll never stop learning, although I may soon stop.

So what if I didn't just stop? I've imagined then wanted the kind of greatly extended lifespan that would allow me to witness events of great import on astronomical timescales, like the Red Giant phase of our own local star, the billion-year-long collision of the Andromeda Galaxy & our own, and the Era of Quantum Degeneracy. I would not be merely human on those time-frames, but would remember when I was.... But what about much shorter spans. What if I could live to be a more reasonable 300?

What I'm thinking about is the wisdom that I've gained so far. What kind of wisdom, perspective, and self-directed goals, would a human aged three hundred have? Never mind what society would have, I'm only focusing on myself. The best I can imagine is something akin to (what little I know of) Buddha, Jesus, and other Teachers both historical and fictional. Strive without ceasing, love one another, those aren't just platitudes, but deliberate choices to building a better world. Even in a post-scarcity time, especially then, lives would still have meaning; humans and their partners could still aim to better themselves and their worlds.

And if I, like so many others, can see a better future, can strive to build it even though I'll never see it, what of you reading this? What are your plans for your three-hundredth birthday? How will you in current time help to make a better world for future humanity? And why aren't you taking action?