QUORA comment - A very sane man !

A very SANE man ! Profile photo for Gopalkrishna Vishwanath Gopalkrishna Vishwanath Lived 69 years so far. No regrets. Look forward to the best years now.Jan 27 How are you feeling being at the last phase (old age) of life? Thanks to Ram Karri for asking this question. [ "It made me think for a while and what I am going to write is not going to be pleasant reading. When I saw this question, my first thought was “Am I really the right person to answer this?” I am only 73. Am I really at the last phase of my life? Just how long is each “phase”? And which phase is the “last phase”? That will help me decide if I have reached the last phase or the penultimate phase of my life. All I can answer is how it feels to be 73. I am at peace. My career is over. I retired about 12 years ago. No more responsibilities, no more commitments, no more bosses to satisfy, no more subordinates to manage, no more customers to please, no more loans to repay. I resisted all attempts made by others to make me rejoin the profession and be an advisor, consultant, mentor, trainer or whatever. True, I did participate in some training activities and guided some new recruits and inducted them into the profession till about 5 years ago but now even that has stopped. The feeling of peace comes from the fact that I have no more liabilities. I have no debts. Everything is paid off. People owe me money. I owe nothing to anyone. My responsibilities to my family have been discharged. No one will be economically impacted by my death. During my younger days, I used to be scared of death because that would affect my wife and children who were dependent on me and my income. That fear is now gone. I brought up two talented children and today they are adults leading their own lives. I feel proud that I am financially independent. I know my children are there for me should the need arise but I am hopeful I will never have to depend on them for my livelihood. My savings should see us through this lifetime unless we live too long and score centuries each. I have no unreasonable demands or expectations. I don’t want more money than what is needed for living a decent middle-class life and maintaining my present lifestyle and meeting medical costs. I am not hungry for power, influence, and importance in society. Going by family history and if genes are to be trusted, it is probable that both my wife and I will leave this planet sometime during our eighties. With some luck we may touch ninety. That is a good 17 years away. I am in no hurry to go. Life now is at its best except for some health issues. But neither do I fear sudden death. In fact sudden death would be a boon. I would rather have a quick painless departure than linger in bed for months, unable to live a normal life, depending on living assistance, watch all my savings gobbled up by medical expenditure in a hospital and watch my life ebb drop by drop over several months. That would be agony both for me and for my near and dear ones. That possibility is the only fear I have and I trust my good karma will ensure that the almighty will spare me and my spouse that fate. Another fond wish I have is to outlive my wife. We both know how hard it is going to be for both of us to lose a living partner after having lived together for decades. I would rather face that tragedy and brave the suffering than allow my wife to face it. My mother died as a “sumangali”. I wish the same for my wife. " ]