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this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2024
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I'm well old enough to be your daddy. Here are some things you should pay attention to.
Have a reason to get up every day you can breathe. Because if you have no reason to, you will wither and die. I've seen it happen and it ain't pretty.
Time will seem to accelerate. You will slowly start to notice that the "past" gets farther behind you quicker and the "now" flies by to become that "past" and the "future" gets here far too soon.
Like it or not, you are getting closer every day to dying rather than living no matter what you do. Make your peace with that concept because no one gets out alive.
Buy a nice suit. You will probably be going to the weddings of the children of your friends or your own children. And far more sadly, the funerals of family and friends. And at some point in time, the funerals will out number the weddings.
Start doing things for society. Get involved in your community. Help build a park or two or three, teach kids something - I spent 4 years tutoring/teaching math to kids in a small rural school during COVID. It did cost me some health, (Thanks! long COVID), but it was worth everything it cost and I would do it all over again. Those kids did more for me than I could do for them.
Physical exercise is great but don't forget to exercise the mind also. Because if you don't, you will lose cognition and the ability to think perhaps faster than your physical health - and this is my greatest fear. Cultivate hobbies that stimulate mental challenges. And a diet of video games ain't it. Go fishing, bird watching, gardening, do art. Something, anything, that challenges the mind to solve problems and be creative. I design and build metal model steam engines and 3D printed items to try and keep my mind sharp. I try to learn new skills every chance I get.
As much as it might be fun to travel the world and see new places and people, there is a whole world to explore right outside your door. Go explore it and really learn the details of it. It will surprise you with it's beauty and complexity. You don't need to be rich to explore the world.
Teach something to someone. You know things - pass it on to others. Do not let the knowledge die with you.
Learn to laugh at yourself - do not fear looking silly. It can help make people feel more comfortable with you and with themselves.
And finally, live a good life. Be kind and be there for the world when it needs you. Leave a legacy for others to remember you by - even if it was only a kind word at the right time. The memory of you is all the world will have - leave your mark on it.
Good Luck! We all need it!
Pretty good advice, except the bit about eschewing video games. Bird watching is more mentally stimulating than piloting a T28 in extreme battle conditions? You're out of your fucking element, Donny.
Idk, video games are absolutely mentally stimulating, but it's less fulfilling than a variety of activities.
Cultivating multiple disparate hobbies is good though imo. Let's you experience new problems and new people and new things. Video games are great though, in moderation like all things.
I say this after binging palworld for the last couple weeks 😃
Yeah the rest made sense but that bit. Games can be extremely challenging much more so than any other mental activity you'll end up doing.
Especially if you play a lot of different kinds. Just learning new games and figuring them out is plenty mentally challenging.
I did not say you shouldn't play video games at all. But you miss the total picture of an activity like bird watching. Bird watching involves actually getting up, getting dressed, getting you gear and camera ready, and getting out into the "real world" to do. Often with groups of other like minded people enjoying the hobby. And not sitting on your ass in a room alone for hours on end.
It's about being involved with the outside world and the physical effort interacting with other real in-person humans that matters. As a medic I was paged out at times to people who were lonely and just wanted someone - anyone - to actually be with and talk to. Sometimes they would even have a suitcase packed and ready for the trip to a hospital. Playing a video game online won't give you the same social interaction as someone actually being there with you.
And now being old myself, I understand even more just how important it is to have regular physical social interaction for good mental health. And just like sitting alone on a bench in a shopping mall, a video game lobby or team match isn't quite the same thing.
As someone who birdwatches and plays video games, I do not agree with most of what you've said here. You've oversimplified video gaming in the most small minded way (i.e. just sitting on your ass in a room), while glorifying birdwatching which I could easily simplify as just sitting on your ass on a bench.
That said, I appreciate you taking the time to reply. You needn't do so again for my benefit.
I really appreciate this post. Thank you!