In days gone by things were made to last a "life time". Man built his utensils out of solid materials, metal and stone. And he was able to maintain his body for far longer than the average man does today. We accept 70 years as the normal lifespan, but in such ancient texts as the Bible we read:
"In all Kenan lived for 910 years." "When Janed was 162 years..." (Gen. 5:15)
Nowadays the products manufactured by our society seldom last more than a few years. For instance you buy a new suit and after wearing it twice, it starts to fall apart at the seams. You buy a new car and you don"t expect it to run very well in five years time. If you neglect it, it surely won"t, but with proper maintenance it could run for many more years.
It is the same with the human body. Due to neglect it ages rapidly, but give it proper care and you can more than double its expected lifespan. We may well wonder why people allow their possessions, and even their own bodies, to deteriorate so rapidly. The reason is that most people care little for what they have already attained. They are always preoccupied with their plans and efforts to accumulate more money and possessions for the future and they don"t allow themselves time to appreciate what they already have.
There are many people who plan for a "comfortable retirement" at the age of 60. Throughout life they work towards fulfilling this goal by accumulating possessions and increasing their wealth and material security. No consideration is given to the body, man"s most valuable possession and it is deprived of the rest, exercise, nourishment and rejuvenation it needs. Then when the body begins to protest by manifesting disease or pain, man doesn"t have the time or know how to cope with the problem, so he suppresses it with drugs.
Why prepare for retirement at 60 when your body can live for 150 years? Why hoard what you have and save it for a day when you may not have the energy or the interest to enjoy it? Having achieved their goal, many people sit back and think, "Ah, now I will enjoy it". But they find they can"t because their minds are exhausted and their bodies are aged and disabled.
Enjoy life, take it easy and relax. You have plenty of time and no need to hurry. Spread your life out to 150 years, learn through experience and gain as much wisdom as you can. When you were young, life was new and exciting and you were fresh, with ambitions and goals to fulfil. Now you"ve had the experience, it"s not time to stop but to contemplate on your life. Realize its true meaning and pass your knowledge on.
In youth you were like the scientist, constantly experimenting and now in old age it"s time to write your synthesis. If you leave your experiment without formulating the conclusion, your efforts will have been of no value. Who will gain, neither you nor the next person.