I just want to get really good on the mandolin, and that’s probably going to take a few decades more than I actually have. And that’s what I think about when I watch movies about immortals (Highlander and the like). While you’re thinking “oh, the things he must have seen! The rise and fall of empires! The loves won and lost!”, I’m thinking, “he must play a hell of a violin by now.” So I might only remember the last fifty years, but I’ll always be better on the mandolin than I was last year. Who knows, maybe I’d have time to get good on the fiddle?
There’s something sweet about that :) But a few centuries later, you sure you’ll still enjoy it?
Myself, I’m prone to getting frustrated that I can’t learn faster, but we just have to make peace with that. Being in ignorance and pain can sometimes be what makes life so poignant. Who knows, there will never be enough years that we can be satisfied with.
I better take off my musing hat now..
Actually I also desire for longevity for reasons like yours, but I’ve been thinking, perhaps it’s more important to measure the quality of experiences rather than number of years. Wisdom, basically - and from history, we know that a deep level of that is attainable irrespective of background and age.
And then, there is also the eventual apathy towards life and wonder. I’m most afraid of that.
Edit: typo