25,000 days and counting
One of the few advantages of age is realizing that you’ve done more things more times than others have. If you’re lucky enough to reach the age of 68 1/2, you’ve survived 25,000 days. I’ve gone a year past that, but what’s a few hundred days here or there?
We worry about our mortality, and life does often seem so short, but if I were to count the hours I’ve spent doing nothing of any significance, it would be depressing. I’ve slept for 17 years. Eaten 75,000 meals, and smoked a million and a half cigarettes.
If I had never cut my hair, and had managed to keep it all around, it would be 27 feet long by now. That would make one hell of a ponytail. Picture a couple of tail-carriers following me around. I’ve shaved maybe 8,000 times. I shudder to think what I’d look like if I hadn’t.
The stuff that’s easy to estimate over a lifetime is mostly the maintenance stuff, the necessary stuff. What’s difficult to measure is what we choose to do. How many years of actually productive labor, rather than years of being paid for showing up. How many times have you had sex? Difficult for someone of any significant age to remember, much less estimate.
None of these calculations are of any importance, except to demonstrate, perhaps, how much time we spend doing what we must do, rather than what we freely choose to do. Life is all about choice, after all. Some of us choose to lead quite ordered, routine lives (that make calculations like these easy), while others tend toward more extemporaneous paths. We have a strong tendency toward routine, because it’s relaxing and not confusing. I guess my tendency involves leading a rather routine life, but upsetting the applecart fairly often, leading to a different routine.
Good blog. When we take a look back at our years, time spent in different endeavors can be very revealing. I tend to look back at time wasted waiting for things – standing in lines, driving in heavy traffic, sitting in a waiting room, or waiting for your loved ones to call. Waiting becomes routine and I guess I choose to wait. Or, not choosing has been my choice. At least, that’s how I feel today. Tomorrow I choose to feel differently.
I’m 40 and just a 100 days or so shy of day 15,000. I know this because the other day I found myself working out how many days it has been since I was born and then how many more I could expect to live: 18,250 if I live to 50; 21,900 = 60; 25,550 = 70; 29,200 = 80. Am I having a midlife crisis? Possibly.
This reminded me of when I was a politics student at university 20 years ago. A group of us were talking about having a “year out” to go travelling before we stepped on to the career ladder and got caught up in the rat race. A lecturer overheard us and said we shouldn’t have a “year out” we should have our “lives out” – ie spend our life doing what we want to do, rather than what we thought we should do. I had my gap year and worked and travelled around the States. I loved every minute.
Then I got a job and entered the rat race. Have I loved every minute of my working life? No I have not, but I’m relatively successful and overall enjoyed getting to where I am. But have I wasted days? Days that I was not working and I could’ve gone sailing, climbing, skiing? Yes I have wasted days. But now the mortality of life has only just really dawned me and I can’t afford to waste any more days. Everyone of them is so precious – we must seize each and every one.
Very interesting blog. My friend Grant Heston and I wrote a song about this very thing called 25000 Days. Check it out on our Myspace http://www.myspace.com/strivingformoreband
We hope it inspires people to make each and every moment of their lives count for something.
Hope you enjoy,
Mike Gann