Arthur Brooks has written another book. I don’t always agree with Mr. Brooks but I do enjoy reading him. He can usually make me think. This one is called “From Strength to Strength.” It’s a guide to aging gracefully. I’m gonna take some chunks of the book and splort out 500 or so words on an ongoing basis to see where it goes. And I’m going to steal heavily from August Meyrat’s review in The Federalist.

People well past middle age daily strive and assert themselves in the same way they did when younger. They don’t retreat from the spotlight, but jealously guard it. They stubbornly refuse to recognize that they just aren’t as smart, sexy, and energetic as they used to be and end up humiliating themselves daily. I do NOT wanna be that guy, but I DO appreciate the struggle. Part of this is sheer vanity. Part of it is self-delusion. But a HUGE part of it is failure to prepare.

Brooks breaks his targets into “young adults” (20’s – early 40’s) and older adulthood (late 40’s – death.) I’m thinking there should be another break at about the late 50’s/early 60’s mark, but that’s because I just blew past that marker. Ya’ got your “learning” from 0 to mid 20’s. You got your “earning” from mid-20’s to late 50’s. And then you got … what? Depends. Didn’t put enough away? I didn’t and I don’t really regret that. I lived my life pretty much the way I wanted and knew what I was missing out on. My dad worked until the cancer made it impossible, about a month before it killed him. My mom worked until her mid-80’s and now at 88 missed it bunches, and COULD still probably fill a classroom one or two days a week. Me? I can start drawing down the assets any day now. If I DID I’d still need to word three days a week – for. ev. er. Hold out two more years and I can cut that down to one or two days a week. And if I hold out until 70 I should be OK not working but, like my parents, I still will.

But that’s only ONE part of life. The other is the non-economic terms. What will my family role be? How will I fit into my various communities? As old age closes its icy grip, what will motivate me? Most people never ask these questions and are left adrift when the questions are dropped in their lap. They’ve lied to themselves for decades and now the lies can no longer be sustained. “We can ignore reality, but we cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.” (see, I manage to sneak a little Rand in even here!)

I’ll close with this observation: Ever imagine the world without you? When you’re gone? You can’t. In order to imagine that world you have to have some position IN the world and by definition you’ll be gone. You cannot adequately imagine a world without … you.