I have decided to live for 129 years to the year 2100. Precisely to Nov 7th, 2100. It might seem strange to pick your death date but it has given me a great deal of comfort. I now have lots of time to finish my novel.
How did I get here? It all started with poor planning and a small airport.
I had read all my books during a vacation. Before the taxi picked us up, my fingers brushed against the small collection of books at the rental house, trying to decide if I could leave one of my books and take one of their’s. I was facing eight hours travel and with no book. Torture! Would this be stealing to take one of these books? There was no note or sign but something about the collection made me think that other guests had done exactly this. However, as the taxi pulled up, I decided that the airport would have one of those shops that sold everything from chocolate, to pillow head rests to the latest paperback. I was wrong.
The airport did have a gift shop featuring many types of tacky souvenirs, t-shirts, questionable cellophane wrapped danishes, but not a single book. Not even a magazine. Despite claiming it was an “international airport”, it was a tiny, simple structure building and the contents of the gift shop were piled on top of each other and crammed into a closet size space.
I could re-read one of my books but I had stuffed them into my checked bag so tragically that was not an option. I stared around at my fellow passengers who sported open books. I must have looked like the equivalent of a starving child because someone offered me their book. Okay, fair, I did also ask if anyone had an extra book that I could read. I would return it on the plane, I promised.
I was handed: “ I’ve Decided to Live 120 years: The Ancient Secret to Longevity, Vitality, and Life Transformation” by Ilchi Lee. This is not the book I would have picked but beggars can not be choosers so I settled into the cheap plastic chairs of the airport lobby to read about Lee’s thesis. Which is not necessarily about living to 120 years old but how to change your mindset about growing older. That we can live a long and fulfilled life if you are willing to shift your thinking and take care of your body, spirit and financial affairs.
Many of us struggle with finding a balance between making enough time for our careers, our families, to play and relax and then also trying to find those small gaps of time for writing. Some days—even some weeks and years—it feels like an impossible task. How will I ever finish my novel and then find the time and energy to do the next steps: editing, querying, searching for an agent or publisher. Some days, I think, it’s not worth it. I don’t have enough time.
As I read through Lee’s book on the plane, I came to a revelation: if I live to 129 years old, I do have enough time. More than enough. And living a long life, doesn’t have to be one of misery as most people assume when they think about old age. I learned about Jeanne Calment who lived to be 123 years old— and she was in excellent health until the the last few months of her life, eating moderately but not denying herself the things she loved, like chocolate and fine wine. Of course, Lee’s book is about how to change your thinking about getting older and that you can still do the things you want, if you think of yourself as “young” with a long life ahead of you.
I finished the book on the plane, thinking about the author’s ideas about a long life. I decided that it would be fun to think about living until the next century, to 2100. That gives me 76 years to finish and publish my novel. Perfect. I think I can do this. I might even write more than one book with all that time.
