In the first days of autumn, one feels worried, because after the long summer holidays and the light way of carrying many summer things, we change with the return to the routine of the hustle and bustle of daily life. All of this makes us meditate on the symptoms of old age that we nonagenarians are noticing.
Thus, the longevity that my protective doctor – the last living disciple of Dr. Gregorio Marañón, Dr. Carlos Rodríguez Jiménez -, 103 years old, proposes to me, leads me to review the most significant sensors of the body. As Francis of Assisi said, it is the donkey that carries us along throughout life.
I was reading José Manuel de Prada recently in a very interesting and thorough article, in which he summarized the thing in a lapidary phrase: “Don’t pretend to always be young. Your time will come too.” A very necessary reminder, because every day, due to the laws of biology, final deterioration becomes inevitable.
But there is no doubt that setting a high limit for one’s life is good, in order to maintain a certain enthusiasm that always helps. But even better is a beatific dream, as said by a friend obsessed with dream issues.
To clarify, I did an endurance test last week, with a trip to Seville, round trip in the same day, for a conference, participating in a copious lunch with friends, and despite all that, and the 800 kilometers of AVE, and the heat that persists, I resisted.
But let no one get their hopes up, much less their own measurements, which tend to be too optimistic. Furthermore, beyond worrying about the years or so, the thing, deep down, is always the same, what are we doing here, why come, and then leave…
I wish all readers a happy autumn.