Last weekend I told some friends about the work of Aubrey de Grey, gerontologist and chief science officer of the Strategies for Engineered Negligible Senescence (SENS) Foundation. Dr. de Grey speculates that we’re eventually going to cure the causes of aging and that some day humans will live to be a thousand years old. That notion always gets me thinking about a question I find intriguing: How would you live your life differently if you knew you had another thousand years to live?
Let me put it another way: How would you treat your body if you knew it had to last another thousand years? Would you quit smoking? Would you be more careful about what you eat? Would you pay more attention to information about nutrition and fitness? Would you exercise more?
Most of us don’t know how much time we have left. So why not pretend you’re going to live a thousand years? Make some of those positive changes now. If you don’t live to be a thousand, maybe you’ll at least make it to a happier, healthier 100.
Ed,
Life forever, not just lengthy,is a concept frequently assumed by those not reflecting, and those reflecting on it have trouble getting their arms around it.
Still another look would be to first decide you want to live as long as you can healthfully, and then set up or increase the odds of doing so through all of the various possible food, exercise, sleep etc. permutations.
In any case, I am awaiting to dine with you
and then decide which approach to elect sponstaneously—I have always enjoyed at least two things, choice and surprises.
Take care,
Kevin