Write a letter to your 100-year-old self.

To be the ton – a whole hundred years on the planet! And, if the Royalty is still in situ in Britain in 2072, to get a telegram of congratulations!

It’s hard to write a letter to my 100 year old self. So many variables. I can’t imagine where I may reside, if I am alive. What my mental capacity, financial or physical capabilities may be. I have two aunties in their early nineties and one still plays a lot of golf. They have big families though supporting them.

Then there are all the uncertainties about where my society will be, ethically, then. That’s the terrifying bit. All those notions of ‘life worth living’ ‘assisted dying’ ‘quality of life’ swirl through our newspapers and may hit the statute books very soon. What then for a centenarian who would like a bit more life and a natural death? Will that be considered selfish? A burden on society? Will my pension have dried up?

Or what if the reverse is true and I am on my fifth knee replacement? Constantly attached to intravenous antibiotics every time I cough. What if the lawyers are spying on Healthcare for any omission so the health providers over medicate at every turn. What if I have become part of a research project on longevity? Or I have some cognitive decline, even early dementia. Will there be anyone appointed to witness my giving consent or otherwise? Or will anyone be the judge of what’s best for me, what my quality of life looks like to them.

Friends and family where will they be? Scarce I imagine in my case. The scars will be long for all the lost loved ones. Ageing people often say they are frequently attending funerals.

So what would I put in the letter? I would write clearly in bold letters this verse from 2 Timothy 3:15

“And, from your infancy, you have known the Sacred Scriptures, which are able to instruct you toward salvation, through the faith which is in Christ Jesus”

That’s what I would write. Keep it simple. Do what you have always done since early childhood. Believe. Trust. Love humans but don’t depend on them.  Depend on God. One day at a time is enough to bear. Try and serve no matter if you are free or in captivity, rich or poor. Being an example to those who may be helping you. You may influence far more than you think. Keep telling the stories about faith. truth. your experience. When I nursed older people I gained from their wisdom, their experiences, their healing. Memories are magnificent.

PS Befriend the animals as their love is truly unconditional. They don’t care about wrinkles or grey hair. I hope at the time of reading this you will be able to say Axel the rescue cat made 100! (21 years)