Life is Like a Game... it's going to end!
What do the games of basketball and American football have in common? They are both played with four quarters. And if sports can be analogous to the longivity of one's life, then I consider myself to have just entered the fourth quarter. The way my life breaks down is like this (more or less): My first 20 years, I grew. My second 20 years I spent in the service of my country (Navy). My third 20 years (mostly) was spent grinding it out working in the private sector. The third quarter is over for me and the fourth quarter is well underway (retirement). Although baseball was really my sport of choice growing up, I would then correlate it all to reaching the 7th inning stretch (and the beer stands are still open!). At this point in my life, all I can hope for is overtime or extra-innings... and I'm working on that.
Those of you who can relate to reaching 65 years of age know what I'm eluding to here. When some people hit that number, they tend to slam on the brakes thinking whoaaa... how did I get here so quickly? We run through life at such a fast pace - young, carefree, and sometimes a little reckless - only to realize that we don't want to lose the game before reaching the 4th quarter. So what do we do? We all tend to radically edit or change the game plan and continue on with our life more conservatively in order to extend our game into overtime. And that is just what happens... SLAM on those brakes! The game plan in life should be to live long and healthy into our retirement years, but abrupt changes are also not healthy. Many people don't begin to understand this until their game has already been lost. For example, at age 70 is not the age where one should clean up his act, start exercising and eating healthier foods. Too little, too late as my grandmother would say. As renowned real estate trainer David Knox would say- Some get it, some don't. Some will, some won't. Those that do, do. Those that don't, don't.
It's both unfortunate and sad that many who have lived before us never reached their fourth quarter in life. And then there are those few folks who seem to be in double overtime! When many of us do reach true Senior Citizen age (65 in most developed countries), we tend to take a step back and begin to reflect on certain things like memories, the what if's, family, etc. Many take a larger step backwards and intentionally cut back on their active lifestyle. And in summary, most all of us begin to increasingly wonder about how much more time we have on our game clock. And when we start to worry it, look who shows up knocking on the door - stress and anxiety. So then what do we do... we make a concious effort to SLOW down. When this happens, things are now set in perpetual motion... the downward spiral. I guess you can say we do it to ourselves.
The Finite Heartbeat Theory
Do we as humans have a finite number of heartbeats? Cardiologist Wasim Zahid says that the notion that you're only dealt out a certain number of heartbeats from birth - "is a myth" BUT... that said, a heart which beats rapidly can be unhealthy. At an average of 80 beats per minute, most of us will manage less than four billion beats in our lives. But you don't die because you run out of heartbeats – you run out of heartbeats because you die. Neil Armstrong once said "I believe every human has a finite number of heartbeats. I don't intend to waste any of mine by exercizing." While Armstrong's take on the theory seems simple enough, he couldn't be more wrong (Armstrong died at age 82).
Concerning this common myth regarding the heart, the answer is not as simple as you might think. If you do believe in the finite heartbeat theory, you should definitely be out there exercizing, because exercise lowers your overall heart rate. This rule isn't a hard and fast one, given differences of a few million here and there. But if we look at it in rough orders of magnitude, there does seem to be a heart-wrenching link between living fast and dying young for all creatures big and small. One of the main reasons I decided to retire early and move to the Philippines was to eliminate all the stresses in my life and just relax. (As it turns out, I eliminated many and picked up a few new ones.) The side benefit to me of reducing my stress was lowering my heartrate.
Back to the Game!
So, back to the 4th quarter and the revised game plan. The goal is to reach the end of our 4th quarter, or even extend the game to overtime. Most of us will make changes over time to the way we live our lives. (One change for me is that I no longer "dive" for those low racquetball shots.) This is that age where many of us become concerned about all those things we never concerned ourselves with before - health being number #1. We learn (or are directed) to cut back on unhealthy foods and we begin to curtail our alcohol consumption. There are increased wellness check-ups. Estates need to be put in order and Wills need to be prepared. It is when we find ourselves in this "liquidation" mode that we realize none of us are getting out of this alive. As folks age, they begin to struggle with worrying and increasing anxiety (anxiety is a real mental health issue that many older people struggle with). Some simply develop added anxieties over declining health, lack of money, loss of independence, loss of memory, safety and security, and loss of personal dignity. We will all make adjustments over time to our lifestyle in the name of self-preservation, but we cannot avoid aging. Why didn't we learn to take better care of ourselves earlier in life? Because it was just too damn boring to do so!
Living in the Philippines, I've always had a big concern with availability of good medical care. Living a simple life far into the province leaves much to be thankful for, but it also raises some serious concerns. I know there is excellent medical care available in the Philippines, but when you live on an outlying island, and that excellent medical care that you might need is in Manila or Cebu City, you might as well be thousands of miles away because you are just not going to get there quickly, at least not in an emergency. Expats around the world who tend to live much closer to the larger cities can get the immediate quality care that they may need but [and this is a big but!] will they have the cash or insurance coverage they need to secure such services? As an American who just turned 65, I can now avail myself of U.S. Medicare, but sadly, not while living in the Philippines.
Back in Control
A couple years ago we returned to Guam to live (USA) as my wife had lost her residency status because of staying outside the U.S for too long. That's another story told here. Being here for the short-term has allowed me to take total control of my medical care. Being that I am a retired military veteran, I can utilize the Naval Hospital and VA Clinic here and I have learned to use any medical service that is available to me, and that includes Medicare and other insured services. Just in the last two years, I have had cysts removed and skin biopsies performed. I've had a lung cancer screening , Xrays, MRI's, CT scan, bloodwork, colonoscopy, EKG, and other minor procedures... all in the name of preventive care. I have also undergone chriopractic treatment and steroid injections for my lower back problem. As I sit here and write, I am currently in my post-op recovery (7 days now) for back surgery (foraminotomy & laminectomy) which is supposed to relieve some nerve pressure in my lower back. I've been playing racquetball religiously for too many years with this back problem to give up now. With an unhealthy back, it was becoming more and more difficult to maintain my usual active lifestyle, which is a very important part of my game plan. The critical decision to have this surgery was to help me to stick with the game plan that I feel comfortable with... all with the goal to keep a healthy heartrate. My Dr. and surgeon both agree that by remaining active at this age is important. If I had given up my activites years ago because my back was hurting, I would likely be resigned today to life in my easy-chair. I like to joke with my friends that the only reason I selected to have back surgery was so I can get back to a competitive level of racquetball play. Some of my friends might think I'm a little crazy, but my game plan has always been to enjoy life. Both my doctor's chide me about "being on to something" [chuckle].
Playing with a bad back for over 10 years now. I may not know how to act
Some of the questions that come at me from my blog and other social media sites are those related to "What to do" or "How to stay busy in the Philippines" or "How to stay healthy in the Philippines." Like trying to figure out how many heartbeats we may have left, these questions are really hard to answer. Everyone has a different lifestyle (or expectation thereof). Everyone has different health issues. Some expats don't like to do anything but relax and drink beer. Everyone is different when they get closer to their 4th quarter, but the bottom line here is to NOT give up... the game is not over until it's really over! I think they call those types of people quitters, and I have seen a few living in the Philippines. Some of them have passed already... much too soon. Others I know are heading that same way as they refuse to adjust their game plan. I will agree though, that in the four years that we lived in Calbayog City on the island of Samar, I found it increasingly difficult to stay busy, not because of my age, but because of other factors - mostly envrionmental. One thing that would drive me back indoors quicker than the heat and humidity was the poor air quality. I choose not to breath toxic fumes from trash burning in favor of staying inside our climate controlled home. This was not because it was the healthy choice... it was the only choice!
Staying healthy while living in the Philippines takes a conscious and concerted effort, and one that seems to get more difficult with age. I've written before about having a good sound plan before settling in the Philippines, and now in retrospect, I will add that a healthy, active lifestyle should be a solid part of that plan. But stick in there, the game is not over yet. I guess what I am advoctating here overall is to stay as active as possible. Staying active helps to keep you healthy which allows you to be more active... keeping the heart rate low... now that's a good game plan!
For me, returning to Guam has allowed me to return to my original game plan (before moving to the Philippines) with my desired active lifestyle and with better food choices (that I still struggle with). Now that I am "officially" an old geezer, it doesn't mean I have to act like one. For a few more weeks anyway, I will be resigned to playing an occasional game of BINGO at one of the local parlors (if I can sit still that long) until I am totally recovered from my back surgery (Dr. says 4-6 weeks). Then it will be back to golfing, diving, bowling, racquetball and... well, you know (working on keeping that heart rate healthy... 😉). I have no intention of slowing down and I need to make the most of this Fourth Quarter I'm in. And who knows, maybe a little OVERTIME will make it all worthwhile!
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