1. Beginning
Nearly all species reliably generate new life. Most newcomers arrive after a period of gestation, in darkness, and emerge in somewhat incomplete form as they grow to maturity. Humans celebrate new life with elaborate ritual, including ceremonies to name the new being, develop bonds with mothers (and, sometimes, fathers), and, often, with a spirit. For most humans, the beginning period lasts about a dozen years notable for elaborate care for physical needs, close supervision, significant expense of time and money, and, in modern society, a combination of pampering and discipline. Then, the period is over, and young humans are encouraged to exert far more control over their lives. Children do not enter the adult world without enduring a ritualistic period of discomfort.
2. Play
Play is improvisational. As children, we know that. Play opens the mind to sparks of inspiration, conversations with a muse, and a free-flowing sense of reality and proportion. Play involves fantasy—not watching it on a screen, but participating in fantasy in real life, making things up whether they make sense or not. It’s the pleasure of doing—the Germans call it funktionslust (a great word!). Play involves disappearing, being invisible, shape-shifting, surprising yourself and others. Not that it’s all frivolous or unstructured—we learn to play a musical instrument through serious study and endless practice. We learn to play baseball in the same way—but the study is observational, in the open air. To quote Miles Davis: “Do not fear mistakes. There are none.” We play together—it’s more fun that way. The form unfolds in real time. We do not judge. We surrender to the freedom of play. Sometimes, adults forget about the importance of play, and must be retaught.
3. Work
About half of the world’s people work, and about two-thirds of the people in the U.S. work. But what exactly is work? It’s easy to define when there is a traditional employer-employee relationship, fuzzier when work is done at home, running a household, for example, or pursuing interests for economic, personal or social good. Most people work because they must earn a living in order to pay for food, clothing, shelter, health care, education, and other necessities. Coaching Little League, serving as an unpaid elder at a local church, volunteering, some aspects of keeping busy during retirement, attending school and doing homework, deeply researching via books or the internet, writing a blog or Wikipedia articles—these areforms of work, too. For some, the line between work and play is indistinct, and connected with a greater conception of self.
4. Purpose
Without clear expectations, some humans under-achieve, procrastinate, do what needs to be done but no more. For others, purpose is the reason to wake up in the morning, the basis of many personal relationships, the source of pride, and perhaps, a calling, a mission, a life’s work, a project that fits into a larger scheme, a new adventure of scope and scale. There’s competition with one’s past successes, and with peers, and sometimes, with the accomplishments of family members. Some people are driven by their own angels or devils, or simply don’t know how to live any other way. From bucket lists to serial accomplishment (writing a dozen books, then a dozen more) to the renown, respect and riches that may be attached to accomplishment, it’s a complicated human behavior.
5. Travel
In a novel entitled Brothers Keepers, mystery writer Donald Westlake considers the concept of travel from a foreign perspective: monks who, as a rule, do not travel. When circumstances require that they do so, their response is awkward (and funny). Today, we embrace travel as a pastime, easily assembling the necessary funds and coordinating logistics for trips to the Grand Canyon or the Galapagos Islands (to swim with local tortoises), for a week in Paris or a semester abroad in Prague, for six months of temporary employment in Dubai or Duluth. Along the way, we collect experiences that are, often, the highlights of a life and times. We take pictures to document the special times, collect souvenirs (translated from French as "remembrances"), or keep travel journals as they did two centuries ago (longer, if you count the likes of Marco Polo). Travel is very special to humans, or, at least, to humans with the insatiable desire to explore. Looking back at the times of our lives, the ordinary moments are precious—but seeing the world, understanding how other people live, that’s something special.
6. Time
“Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes.” That’s how long a year lasts, but for families dealing with AIDS (the reference comes from RENT), these increments seemed meaningless. For children, time seems boundless; for those nearing the end, there time may be measured with insufficient quantity, quality. Those who are bored, in love, racing for a deadline, racing for a cure, competing in microseconds, those who are commuting, those who are waiting—each of us measures time differently. We are trapped by time’s arrow, unable to move backwards to experience the sweet spots one more time, unable to travel into the future where the situation might be better. As we consult our digital calendars and daily to-do lists, we all travel at the same speed, resourced with the same amount of time. Am I doing too little with my available time, or too much? Can I find more? Can I recapture what I’ve squandered or lost? Can I give some to you? Or to someone who may need it more than we do?
8. After Life
What happens after you die? Does the story simply end with a funeral, a burial, and pleasant memories shared by the next generation? Must one do something notable, or notorious, to be remembered by history? For a century; for two; for five or more? Do we all meet in heaven—except the bullies and those who disregarded the Word of the Lord? Do we wait in purgatory, or another nether-world? Is there a place in Hell reserved for those who cheated or took a life? Are we reborn? Once? Many times? As walruses and sycamore trees, or as particles or waves or atoms or cells, as our own great grandchildren, or a princess in a far-off land? Would we behave differently if we knew that this round was just one of many? What do we know, what do we believe about the afterlife, why do we believe it, and how do these abstract concepts manifest as meaningful understanding?
7. Longevity
Country by country, Gapminder describes the relationship between life expectancy and personal income. The U.S. ranks high on both scores—on average, people live to about 80, and earn about $40K per year. A century ago, the U.S. was also a high scorer witha life expectancy of 50 years and personal earnings of $8K per person. Is longevity as simple as that? On average, perhaps, but few of us are average. Family history, personal health and fitness, stress, and other factors make the discussion complicated. Then, the nuances: race, income inequality, changes in technology, changes in social norms, and more.If you're rich or live in the right place, will you live longer? Is the opposite true?(See Gapminder information, above. The statistics associated with longevity, in different places throughout the world, is a topic in itself.)
Some of us last only a few decades, but more and more of us are contemplating a full century on earth. The question is, what are we supposed to do while we’re here? Make new humans? Take care of the animals? Improve the neighborhood, the city, the world? Start a business that you can leave to your children? Mow the lawn forty times a year for fifty years? Bake the very best snickerdoodles anywhere? Leave some sort of a mark, a legacy, something that matters? Become a scholar, a writer, an artist or inventor, a chef to feed other people? A family man, an excellent wrestler, a wealthy attorney, a power couple? How does one measure a life?
4. Your Life & Times