I have a bumper sticker that says, "He not busy being born is busy dying." It's from a song of Bob Dylan's called, It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding. It reminds me, or those behind me, to remember why we're living, why we're here. By having a mission in life, a reason to believe, we actually potentiate our body's own capacity to heal. This is what is called teleology, that our lives have a direction and purpose. We are not merely a collection of chemicals looking for someone to fix us. Healing comes from more than a mechanism. The most profound changes come from realigning with the creative drives that fulfill us.
When Dylan sang, " I was so much older then I'm younger than that now," I had no idea what that meant. I took my life so seriously when I was young that some friends remember me as being an old man in my twenties. Now I'm much happier, those values I held to be so important became larger and more inclusive, rather than narrow and sure. Growing old in ancient time was seen as ruled by the planet Saturn. Saturn appears at New Year as old man time with his sickle that cuts off life. He represents how as we age, we became more authoritarian and conservative. Our view becomes restricted just like the narrowing of arteries that choke the blood flow to the heart.
The reality is whatever the span of your life is, its only inherent value is in whether it is lived at all. And regarding memory and the fear of its loss, just read Dylan's Chronicles. Pay attention to how he describes the light in a room, the weather shifting or the sun reflecting, " like comets from a dark sky" from the glasses of a store's proprietor. He either took good notes or pays attention much better than most of us. It is these invisible qualities, the ignored moments and gestures, which give life its beauty. Through his endless tour, writing, painting, and appearing on Victoria's Secret commercials he is continuing to create. He may look old to you, but he's probably too busy being born to care.