Fradam

No really, who does? That was the whole idea of the Holy Grail, featured in many quality films such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade; the pursuit of an alleged fountain of youth - which Indy drank, and leaves me very curious for how young he will be in the latest film. Ofcourse, outside of film, the yearning for such things is well documented in the annals of many cultures… but I often wonder: why?

It’s a scary notion when you account for all your loved ones passing away whilst you simply age… actually, that is quite sad.

Arwen explored the issue, and chose “the mortal life”…What I’d prefer is, living longer, but also, for everyone else around me to live longer too! So the question is, how do we do it? Somewhat fortunately, quality tabloid scientists invaded afternoon radio today to provide some suggestions:

• - Flossing daily can add 4 years
• - Keeping a journal can add 3 years
• - Sleeping 7 hours a day at minimum can add another year
• - A satisfying sex life can add another year (although the researcher in question thought it’d add more!)

So there are some interesting things that we could add possibly add in order to increase the length of life for nearly another decade. Now considering life expectancy here in Australia at the moment is about 78 for males, and 83 for females (ouch!), an extra 9 years could for me be the difference between 78 and 87. Alternatively, I could fall prey to dyslexia and I might not need the 9 years.

On a related note, Kellie (who’s birthday it is today - happy birfday! ) brought my attention to the story of someone else who recently celebrated a 109th birthday party. Yes, 109. How’d he get to that age? He must have had some secret right… and just like I’m trying to now, he shared it with a few people didn’t he?

Mr Ross’s eldest sister died two years ago at 99, and his two other sisters are aged 101 and 94.

Yep, he shared the secret with his closest siblings. Whatever this secret was, it must have been amazing - at 109, he was actually born in the 19th century (!)… meaning his life expectancy can’t have been the 78 we enjoy for Australian males today. In fact, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, life expectancy of males born at the turn of the 20th century was 55.

Whoa.

That means he has nearly doubled his life expectancy, adding (at the moment, touch wood) 54 years on!

But what was the secret? It was right at the start…

AUSTRALIA’S last surviving World War I soldier, Jack Ross, turned 109 today surrounded by his extended family and friends at a nursing home in Victoria.

To mark the occasion, the non-drinker and non-smoker indulged in his one vice - chocolate, and lots of it.

There you have it, chocalata really is the elixir of youth Better than flossing, sleep or sex, chocolate could add a staggering 54 years onto your life - so why don’t you just go ahead and reach for some now?

A ponderable thought of late, is the heightened activity of the accomplice of my arch-nemesis. Those who aren’t acquainted with the villain of my tale, fear not; it lurks in many places, with many names, and often wearing different coloured hats. This latest hat is one of my most feared.

The above picture is not in fact, the aforementioned foe, but where the dish and spoon are going, is a bit closer to the mark. The past few months, (and the ensuing ones) seem to be constantly filled with this single word, ‘goodbye’. It is a strange word, evoking a myriad of emotions and thoughts, yet, is synonymous with my ubiquitous adversary. You cannot have this thought of farewell without being forced to trace it to its evil root.

So where do people go? Some have left work; some have left the country. Some have left my church, and some have simply left life… all, however, leave a growing sadness in their wake. Whilst it seems like a lot, it is still almost surprising that there aren’t more people leaving one place or another, with the many branches we choose to follow each day. Opportunity to try something different, to go somewhere new, to be someone else… this opportunity confronts individuals on a daily basis. We wake up and decide if we still want to live the same life we always did, or if we want to do something different.

Is it really so easy? I’d like to hope not, but judging by the mass exodus of people from my life this year, maybe it is. Some friends I now only see at farewells; such is the regularity of our mutual friends departing for a foreign continent, seeking fun and adventure amongst people who steadfastly believe that we ride kangaroos to work/school.

I don’t even know how I am meant to feel when saying goodbye. An underlying emotion is always loss. Moments that have not yet had the chance to develop into actuality, conversations that might have been, memories that had not been made — all of these burst in the bubble of a goodbye. The question of “could there ever have been more?” invariably arises, since it is in that second, that finite nature of time is felt in its truest sense. For some people, we have only fleeting moments before they fly away. How can we ever be sure that all that was, was all that was meant to be? I wonder if I will ever see you again. Lenny had it right.

Amidst these lugubrious thoughts rise that expectation of how one is meant to be feeling:

Elation at changing one’s place of employment. Excitement with a trip overseas. Encouragement for supporting another congregation. Empathy with the passing of a loved one. A lot of E’s there, but not the ones I want. Everlasting. Eternal. Enduring.

Somehow though, this is life. This is the life we live in, where people often enter through one door and then exit stage left. Growing accustomed to this process is part of growing up, possibly one of the keynote aspects in fact. Perhaps that is why I never have really grown up; somethings, I just can’t accept yet.

Closing thought; something I first read when I was about 6, from a tiny scroll purporting to contain the meaning of life (i.e. a fortune cookie from a Chinese restaurant):

Growing old is mandatory,
Growing up is optional

So true.