My story's not quite over

... in fact it's just getting started. :)

Doug Coupland is responsible for another little insight. Four posts ago, I referred to his notion of an Inhibition Spectrum from his newest book, PlayerOne. Another reference from that book also caught my attention. Coupland has one of his characters (a disillusioned pastor) give this opinion of life's chronology:

"... by the age of twenty, you know you're not going to be a rock star. By twenty-five, you know you're not going to be a dentist or any kind of professional. And by thirty, darkness starts moving in - you wonder if you're ever going to be fulfilled, let alone wealthy or successful. By thirty-five, you know, basically, what you're going to be doing for the rest of your life, and you become resigned to your fate. [...] At fifty-five, your story's pretty much over."

Well then. Guess that shows me!

Except that when I was fifteen, I knew what I was going to be doing for the rest of my life, and was itching to get started. True, it took me a while to get there, and I may not stay there, but... I was certainly not focused at twenty on what I wasn't going to be. By twenty-five, I had not ruled out the possibility of being a professional, and in fact was scheming as to how I might get there. By thirty, darkness was not even remotely moving in... in fact, I was solidly on my way to that desired life. Darkness held off for another 20 years. ;)

Then by thirty-five, all kinds of unexpected possibilities began unfolding. Far from being resigned to my fate, life was becoming more of an adventure all the time, new vistas around every turn. Then starting around age forty-five, like a heavyweight boxer life dealt me a series of knockdown blows from which I had to keep getting up before the count of 10. Now, at fifty-five, having healed up and gained some perspective, I feel like my story is not even remotely close to over, but getting more interesting all the time. :) Besides, every scar tells a story of a fight survived.

Not that I'm unaware of the progression of time, or think that I'm invincible! In fact I understand quite well why the ancient Israelites defined the age for prime value as a laborer as between 20 and 60 (retirement at age 50 for temple service; see Lev. 27, Num. 8) Random soreness and loss of skin tone make their annoying points to me daily. At some stage, the effects of age will become a hindrance; but for right now, they are simply a reminder to make the most of life, while it can still be lived relatively unimpaired.

So, Doug old boy, what to make of this? I doubt that I'm all that exceptional. Look at your own life, for example - it proves your story character's pessimism unfounded, as much as mine does. I'll take his fatalism as I'm sure you meant it: nothing more than a literary device. I hope your other fans and readers do the same.