70 Going On to2031 There are many 1000-year old trees in the forests, but not many100-year-old people in the commune. Only 1 in 100,000 people will live tobe a hundred. So, if you are now heading to your 70th year like me, and if you liveuntil you are 90, you have 20 years to square; 80, you have 10 years to spare. Because you have that many years to live, and you will leave everything behindwhen you die, you can afford to splurge on what you already have. By my reckoning, I have 16 more years todispose. Spend with pleasure but wisely, donate what you have in excess of whatyou deem is enough; your children and grandchildren will appreciate yourletting them be self-sufficient, self-reliant, and self-confident. When you return to dust from whence you came, criticisms and praises willbe of no consequence, so any worries in that regard is wasted energy. Trading health for wealth is a dubious exercise. Rockefeller never felt he had enough money; won’t go into what ailed him! You consume three quarts of rice daily and you occupy only eight square metersof space to rest at night, so whence the desire for the mansion and thehacienda? “Good” is a relative term, butyou can be definite about what is “enough”. Trite but true, live happy. It is unproductive to compare yourself to others; it is smart to chartyour own course, fate, and destiny. Fame, fortune, and social status are preoccupations of the insecure. Take a grip of yourself. Change is the order of life. Prepare yourself to blend and to bend. The exercise strengthens your health and wellbeing. Living happy is a choice. It hasto do with managing your own mood, owning up to your own thoughts, and plottingyour own deeds. Fun is a state of themind as it is warmth of the palms, a giggle of the heart, and a hearty guffawof the soul. Happiness is not up to the judgment of others; it is a choice of spirit,and having a sprite and formidable one serves daily fare well along the lengthof the journey. Take your vitamins and minerals if you have them, otherwise, payattention to your food intake, take as much of the sun as you can, along with filteredwater off your tap and fresh air from the plants in your solarium. The remaining 10 to 20 years will find their miles with lots of smiles,yours and those of others. Living is not a chore but a celebration. This is the life I have. I canlive this day, or throw it away. This isthe life I have. So, rise up, pick up yoursnore, and live! (Adopted from Chinese wisdom in my own words. Jaime RVergara, Shenyang.)