70 and Beyond: A Journey of Growth, Learning, and Love

What do you do when something has expired?

My wife empties shelves and refrigerators like a sleuth looking for clues. She squints at the labels, looking for the expiration date. (I wait until the milk smells bad.)

So what do you do when you reach your expiration date?

Moses observed that a man’s life is “sixty or, if by reason of strength, 70 years and then it is gone (Psalm 90:10).

Today, I turn 70. That makes my expiration date.

But life is never about years, but living. Even in recent years, doctors distinguish between “lifespan” (number of years lived) and “healthspan” (number of years of good health). The latter number means more than the former.

An adage reminds us that it is not the years in a life but the living in the years.

That means before you expire, you need to decide how you will live in the gap.

For me, that means three things.

Focus on the Future, Not the Past

I know too many older men who replay their glory days, when they were the hero. It is stories of how they handled this problem or that. If you ask them about tomorrow, the future is only gauze-filtered gibberish.

As Arthur Brooks points out in his book, From Strength to Strength, age provides a new opportunity to share, to teach, and to mentor.

One of my favorite Bible stories is about the 85-year-old Caleb. He survives a generation-long desert wandering, fights battles at Jericho and Ai. When it looks like his life is in the rearview mirror, he wants the hill country of Judea to conquer. That’s where the giants are. It takes the seasoned to conquer the giants.

So the question is not what happened yesterday, but what you plan to do tomorrow.

Learn something new.

The brain is elastic. It will shrink when not stretched. That means you have to keep stretching your mind to keep your faculties.

Currently, I am tackling the area of artificial intelligence. It will define how we live our lives, and I want to know the terms and how to manipulate it for my good. I look at its problems and pitfalls. (BTW, this post is NOT written by AI!)

So what books are you reading? What projects are you tackling?

Some say they are too old to learn. That’s true only for those who choose not to.

Care for others

One pillar of effective aging is getting out of your daily problems to help others. The happiest old people look for someone else to help.

We had a dear friend we called Granny. She was in her 80s when she died, but she loved everyone until the day I stood beside the gurney on which she died.

And one more thing…don’t look for problems. Don’t complain about life. It doesn’t help. Complaining only carves wrinkles in your soul. Look for the best. Make plans for the next five years. Take care of your mind, body, and soul.

In this grisly world, remember to love each other, for as Paul said:

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13, NIV)

Here’s to tomorrow.