I turned 60 today.
My wife and son celebrated with me as I was heading out the door this morning.
I was genuinely surprised; I had assumed it would be an ordinary day since they had already held a dinner party for me last weekend.
It still feels strange to think that today is my 60th birthday.
Sixty years is a long time to have lived.
First of all, I want to thank my parents for giving birth to me and raising me, my wife for walking through life with me, and everyone who has been part of my journey.
And of course, I am grateful to the readers of this blog for their support.
At the moment, I have no major health problems—other than taking medication for high blood pressure, dealing with some back pain, and still working on my molars at the dentist.
Unless a missile from another country falls on me, I get into a traffic accident, or I happen to run into a street riot, I should still have some years left to live.
Aging does not simply mean approaching death.
If everyone died exactly at 80, that might be the case—but life expectancy is different for each of us.
It might be more accurate to say that I’ve survived another year.
Still, the remaining years are not unlimited, and life does not offer a second lap.
How I make the most of this extended life is entirely up to me.
My two children are independent now, so I no longer need to worry about them.
It is enough to live honestly and faithfully with my wife, without betraying each other.
Beyond that, my remaining role in society is what people call “later life.”
Fortunately—or unfortunately—I am not in a position where my absence would cause great trouble, but that does not mean I have accomplished nothing.
I am working today, and I will continue to work tomorrow and for some time to come.
Am I the only one living such a life?
It is not a question of the meaning of existence, but rather whether there is some part of my life that might still be useful to others.
My work now depends on supplementing my declining processing capacity with experience.
One way to pass on that experience is through the publication of the second edition of my book.
Another is to help create a better working environment for pathologists.
I think my next mission in life will be to live with these goals in mind.
Even if I want to work hard, I cannot work in the same way young people do.
So it is better to seek a different way of giving my best—one that allows for a more relaxed way of living.
