thoughts on the news of the day: forever young

hmmm…..

            Scientists are now predicting that infants born today may live to be 150 years old and that those born 20 years from now may live forever.  There may come a time when people will go to their doctors for regular "maintenance." This might include gene therapies, stem cell therapies, immune stimulation and lots of other advanced medical treatments to keep patients healthy. 

            I don’t know if I want to live forever, but I would like to stay “Forever Young”.  Lots of music artists have picked up on that phrase, but I love the original lyrics by Bob Dylan.  The first verse goes like this:

            May God bless and keep you always
            May your wishes all come true
            May you always do for others
            And let others do for you
            May you build a ladder to the stars
            And climb on every rung
            May you stay forever young

           

            Living forever does not appeal to me so much when I visit nursing homes.  The quality of life there is just not very palatable; being warehoused somewhere just to avoid death is not the way I want to be for years on end. My fear has always been that as time goes by, I would find myself sitting in a rocking chair and staring out a window all day long with nothing to do.

            But staying forever young is different.  It’s really a mind set and not a state of physical freshness.  When I reach a time when death seems closer than life, I want to still be alive and aware of all the beauty and love that surrounds me.  I want to have a positive outlook and I don’t want to bemoan today and long for yesterday as if it were some magical time of perfection.  After all today is the tomorrow that will be “the good old days.”

            So my prayer for you today is that you would stay “forever young.”

            hmmm…..