Over time there have been a number of predictions which haven’t quite worked out.
As an astrologer that’s a terrible admission but there you have it.
(BTW – They weren’t my predictions.)
Here’s a few:
1984 by George Orwell
Written in 1948 (and published in 1949).
2001 A Space Odyssey
A cult movie, written by Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubric and released in 1968, a year before Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon.
When I’m Sixty-Four
A Beatles hit from their Sgt Peppers album. The lyrics were originally written by Paul McCartney when he was 16.
These are examples of what people imagined things would be like in some distant future.
How often do we look into what we think the future would be like and then years later look back and there’s hardly any resemblance.
(However, in the cases above we could argue we are now living in a world not far off a combination of all three examples.)
Having reached the age of sixty four I got thinking about age.
Firstly, there’s the adage; “Birthdays are good for your health, the people who have the most live the longest”
Then comes the reflection about the people who haven’t made it this far and yet have had a significant impact on the world.
From my world and life there are quite a few.
Here’s a very short list (not in particular order) of people who I remember:
John Lennon
Bob Marley
Janis Joplin
Jimi Hendrix
Peter Sellers
Bill Haley
John Denver
Frank Zappa
Christopher Reeve
Abbie Hoffman
George Harrison
Elvis Presley
JFK
Martin Luther King
Mama Cass
Andy Gibb
Kurt Cobain
Janis Joplin
Douglas Adams
and many many more.
I’m grateful to all these people and lots more, both well known and not, who’ve enabled me to get to where and who I am today.
Getting to the age of 64 with most of my faculties intact and not having caused too much harm, and hopefully a little good, in the world, is quite a sense of achievement.
When I was young, people in their 60’s were “OLD”.
We often hear “60s is the new 50s (or even 40s)”.
Thankfully, no-one talks about “the new 20s” – I don’t think I’d want to go there again.
It thrills me to think I have quite a few active and lively years ahead.
Last year my father passed away at 90 and my mother is due to turn 90 in a few months (still driving a car, travelling regularly and very active).
This seems to indicate I’ve got a pretty good set of genes and should be able to keep going quite happily for a long time yet (it also means Danita could be stuck with me for a while, too).
In a couple of months, Danita and I start a whole new life together when we move to Tasmania.
For someone in their mid sixties, it feels like life is pretty good.
Have I fulfilled my purpose in this life?
No, not yet – there’s still lots more to do, places to go, people to see.
One of my favourite quotes about completing your life purpose is from Richard Bach in his book “Illusions – The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah”:
“Here is a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t.”
So, I guess there’s still some work left for me to do – that’s exciting!