Version Four Point Oh

Little me. Notice Star Trek on TV. I had nerd creds even back then.

I just hit the big four oh. So far (knock on wood) it hasn't hit me back. It's funny how many momentous birthdays a person has when they're little. The first birthday is a huge one. Actually, it's more for the parents than the kid. It's a way of celebrating the fact that you haven't screwed up and accidentally killed the little human being you're responsible for.

Five seems to be a big one, too. Kids are usually in kindergarten, they're soaking up every single bit of information and experience, and they're charging full steam ahead into childhood. Ten is big because you've reached the double digits. Then there's thirteen and the official start of adolescence. Some people celebrate sixteen with a huge party, while others celebrate fifteen. And of course, eighteen is huge. You're officially an adult! You can vote! Join the military! Move out of your parents' house! In the U.S., twenty-one is a big deal because it's the official drinking age. Then there's twenty-five, which is a nice, round number, and also marks the quarter century mark. Not that any twenty-five year old thinks of it that way. They're too busy being fabulous.

From then on, the big birthdays come by the decade. For a while, anyway. Forty is pretty much the halfway point. If you're lucky, you'll live to eighty and maybe a little beyond, and hopefully with your mind intact and your bladder and, oh heck, the rest of your body, too. Funny thing is, birthdays start to become a big deal more often again. Seventy-five is a pretty big deal. So is eighty-five. And any year you blow out the candles beyond ninety is a downright miracle. If you live to a hundred, you get to be on the local news, telling people your advice for living that long, and secretly hoping your dentures don't come flying out while you're talking.

I wondered what I could do to celebrate my milestone birthday. Then it hit me. I'm supposed to be wise now. Or well on my way to wisdom. So I thought I'd share some of the things that have stuck with me over the years. Some of it is based on personal experience. Other bits are based on what I've seen while treating patients for fifteen years (dang, that makes me feel older than forty candles on a birthday cake does).

Take care of your body or else this happens!

1. Take really good care of your body. Find some sort of exercise you enjoy, and do it often. I'm talking at least three times a week, and possibly more. A variety of exercise is best, but if yoga is the only thing you can stand, then do yoga at least three times a week. Trust me, one of these days you'll go to reach into a cabinet or bend down to pick something up, and after years of doing no exercise and sitting at a desk for forty hours a week, something will give in a spectacularly painful fashion. Keep moving.

2. Here's one I only recently learned. You can choose to be happy. You choose to be happy. You don't have to wait for the perfect person, or the perfect moment, or the perfect whatever for happiness. You can choose to be happy right this moment. You control your thoughts, you control your emotions. Nobody else. Be happy.

3. What's that thing you've always wanted to do? What are your dreams? Not anybody else's dreams for you, but your dreams. Start working on one today. As soon as you're done reading this blog post, take step number one. Then take step number two. When I started writing in earnest, I approached a couple of professionally published writers and (politely) asked their advice. I'm an introvert, and I'm shy, so this was a huge step for me. One writer in particular pointed me in the right direction. It took all of maybe five minutes of her time and some bravery on my part. Then I took the next step. And the next. Go follow your dreams today.

Wondering where the road leads next

4. Sometimes I think of the world as a balance of positive and negative. You can put something positive into the world's net balance, or you can put something negative into the balance. Be kind, courteous, and helpful. Be like Mr. Rogers. Be like Mother Teresa. Make the world better one moment or one person at a time.

It'll take me another decade to come up with number five. Just kidding! I could probably go on, but I think four major insights is enough for one post.