Beautiful Old Age Life

Despite his age, he sat on a chair and delivered the lecture. For about an hour and twenty minutes, without a single PPT slide, I listened to his leisurely lecture where he calmly reflected on his past life, pointed out what is important in life, and occasionally shared a laugh. The content of the lecture was good, but what impressed many people more was his ability to give such a lecture at the age of 104. Although I am not confident that I will live to be 104 years old, I wondered if I would be able to give a public lecture even at the age of 84, which is 20 years younger than the professor.

With the question of how I should live to be able to do that, I asked his daughter-in-law, who was accompanying Professor Kim, about his daily life while we were having lunch together. She introduced herself, saying that she was in her 80s and that she drives and takes people around, and then told us about Professor Kim’s very ordinary daily life. He maintains a simple routine: going for an hour and a half walk in the mountain behind his house every day, eating well three times a day, drinking two or three cups of coffee a day, reading books and thinking, and writing when an idea comes to mind. He also gives external lectures.

In particular, he spends a lot of time thinking and is sometimes surprised by how many creative ideas he has, much like those of younger people. He mentioned that the age of 100 will soon come for many, and I thought that the answer to living a healthy old age might be found in Professor Kim’s daily life.

A life that I would describe as ‘extraordinary in its simplicity’—a life supported by the health of the mind and body, activating the body’s cells and brain circuits every day, and the will to let go of all greed and do something helpful for this world before death. Even at the age of 104, he embodies the ordinary truth that living a life of simplicity and purpose can lead to a beautiful old age.

YB