[This blog post was rejected for 75% of the blog mail recipients. I think it was because the title was numerals and it did contain two links.]
The daughter of friends is 40. I can just write that and you know I am talking about age. It has been 40 years since she was born. That means she is at least 14,600 days old. 40 times 365 = 14600, plus leap days and not counting days since her birthday.
I often recall James Michener’s advice:
Fool around until you are 40 since until you are that old, you are still feeling your way, learning yourself and the world.
Michener also advised staying out of jail and mental institutions. Seems like good advice but not always easy. Sometimes, the laws get so twisted, one simply can’t allow “legal” behavior to get in the way of right living. Mental illness is an old problem and that can still cause trouble beyond understanding.
One comment I saw recently reminded others that only a few centuries ago, 40 was close to the end of life for most people. They could not expect to live much past that age. It is not true that every person who has reached 40 knows how to live and lives happily. From four decades on, it may be easier to let oneself off the hook when fear, curiosity or a nagging sense of unfulfilled duty starts taunting one to understand the meaning of life. The big questions, the gnawing ones, the pesky ones, the questions that promote doubt as to adequate achievement, appropriate effort, lightheartedness, gratitude, morality, and purpose can be entertained, given respect and then politely shown the door.
I looked up the words “life begins at 40”, which turns out to be the title of a book that was popular in 1933 and 1934. From Wikipedia:
Life Begins at Forty is a 1932 American self-help book by Walter B. Pitkin. Written during a time of rapid increase in life expectancy, it was very popular and influential. It was the #1 bestselling non-fiction book in the United States in 1933, and #2 in 1934, according to Publishers Weekly.
Let’s just say that life is turned on when you are awake and aware and 40 is a fine age to be that way.
