It’s been over 2 years since I had my last physical. I have no excuses for not taking better care of myself. But for the sake of argument I’ll say it’s aging.

Reaching a certain pinnacle in my life - Age 65 - brought this one simple fact to bear: I have less years ahead than those behind. That’s a truth all of us must face. 

For my English Writing major in college I had to take a course in Critical Theory, and within that course are various authors and movements in writing, one such author was Jean-Paul Sartre who wrote extensively about the theory of existentialsim.  Perhaps it was Sartre’s views on life that triggered my thoughts about the meaning, purpose, and value of my existence on this Pale Blue Dot.  

Age 65 set off a spark in my brain that kind of ignited the thought that since I had less years in front than behind, why should I “waste” time and money on prolonging something that was sure to happen anyway - my death. Morbid subject that it may seem to most of us, death is unavoidable. 

I’m 68-years old and two weeks ago the results from my first physical since 2021 showed that I had hypetension. But my bloodwork tests showed pretty normal results, which really surprised me. My doctor recommended a few ultra-sound tests to look and see if the hypertension has caused any blood vessel issues, and I’m on meds for the high BP that’s now a lot lower than it was the day of my visit. 

Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) said “Before you come alive, life is nothing; it’s up to you to give it a meaning, and value is nothing else but the meaning that you choose.” I’ve decided to choose joy, peace, and caring for others as highly valuable aspects to the meaning of life. And I must also add caring a little bit more about myself has now become more valuable as well.