YOLO

'YOLO', an acronym for "You Only Live Once", a slang term which had a meteoric rise and fall in the youth culture earlier this year, has in time trickled down to the general consciousness of the over-50s crowd, except that in its cross-generational evolution the term has acquired a more heightened sense of urgency.  No matter how rash the impulse is, for the young, to live dangerously, the notion that they may not live forever seldom enters their consciousness.  It's quite different for those over-the-hill, for whom death is no longer a possibility in the distant future but a foreseeable certainty which each one of us has to come to terms with.  As 2012 draws to a close, it seems appropriate to reflect a bit on what 'yolo-ing' may mean for some of us, though I feel rather terrified to do so for fear of sounding trite, which, I'm afraid, is unavoidable as the subject has been very thoroughly treated in both high and low-brow literature.

Holstee Manifesto

You all probably have seen this poster somewhere on the web before.  It expresses the YOLO sentiment, for the not quite die-hard cynic, pretty well, I think.  Make of it what you will, I keep the poster nearby my desk to remind me that my time is rapidly running out and I must not twiddle-twaddle it away.  In addition, I  also think that I need somehow to turn my attention more outward, outside of my own concerns, that is, and step out of my comfort zone, so to speak.  These are a couple of my year-end resolutions anyways.  Thinking about taking stock of one's life, I recently came across a TED talk called "A kinder, gentler philosophy of success" by Alain de Botton, a pop culture "philosopher", which I think may help reduce anxiety for some of us.  Here is another TED talk about doing something one loves by a female Palestinian architect, Suad Amiry, which is fun to listen to.

Here is to you "A More Adventurous Year, YOLO!"