The life in our years

In short, they raised me to trust I could do anything I set my mind to and urged me to find an interest in life that would sustain me. As my mother once wrote to me: "Life has a lot to offer. One must, however, know how to cherish it and to make the most of the opportunities offered."

My grandfather put it this way: "The world becomes a universe full of puzzles and its secrets a life full of exciting curiosities, joy and deep feeling for its hidden mysteries."

Surely then what truly matters is not how many years have passed, which after all is beyond our control, but what we do with each day, or as my friend put it, "getting on with life".

So instead of feeling like I'm staring down the barrel of turning 50 next birthday, I'm going to try and emulate the attitude Abraham Lincoln displayed when he commented so eloquently: "And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." Now there's a man who probably wouldn't have turned a hair at the prospect of growing older if he'd been given the chance!

We may not always succeed, but like dwarfs standing on the shoulders of those giants who lived before us, we can strive to understand and build on the past, continuing to contribute creatively, derive meaning and purpose and hopefully help to make the world a better place for future generations.

That, after all, is our legacy.