Don't Fear the Reaper

I have two related core beliefs that oppose the widespread desire for longevity. I will yoke them into this statement: “Live a little. Something’s gotta kill you.”

Let me start with the latter assertion. For three years at the end of my career, I worked for the now 100-year-old American Heart Association, whose mission is to create a world of longer, healthier lives for all.

No one in their right mind would find fault with this mission. It is the very epitome of noble. People from all walks of life deserve protection from the #1 killer, heart disease, which strikes people down in their prime and afflicts infants and toddlers.

With all due respect to the AHA’s mission, however, the rationalist in me doubts there will ever be a world completely free of heart afflictions. I am not sure if the world’s other nasty killers are solvable—the list of life-threatening diseases just goes on and on. Medical science will strive for cures to alleviate suffering, mitigate senescence, and introduce life-prolonging interventions, breakthroughs, and miracles. This is mainly as it should be. And yet.

An inconvenient thought poaches in my head: Something’s gotta kill you. There is a reason there are few people over age 100 roaming the earth. We are not designed or meant to live forever. Life is a temporary gift; if we do it right, one life is enough.

So how do we do it right? By living a little or a lot. I’ve always advocated for eating another slice of cake, binging on a vacation, and wearing my best threads rather than letting them languish in my closet. Conservation, diets, and budgets be damned. Life’s a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death, to quote one of my heroes. You can be sure that the banquet contains some less than salubrious foods. Crossing the street comes with risks as well.

Some of us may get a kick out of parsimony, saving for a future that may never come. I am not advocating for complete insanity or hedonism. Keep a roof over your head. Pay your bills. Don’t stay at the most expensive hotel.

But enjoy now. Travel, eat, and live like you mean it. And embrace the reaper—it beats fearing him.