Ahead: The Future Lies in Your Hands

Pleasure depends on making the most of the ‘here and now’, but long-term progress and success is reliant on looking ahead and making plans for future development and growth. What is to be will be, but only when we take steps to make it so. The future is in our hands. That was the inspirational message bequeathed to the world by William Ernest Henley, a man described by a friend as ‘a great, glowing, massive-shouldered fellow with a big red beard and a crutch; jovial, outstandingly clever, and with a laugh that rolled like music; he had an unimaginable fire and vitality; he swept one off one’s feet.’  Henley had a clear view of his destiny as a writer and poet, and overcame every obstacle that stood in his path. As a youngster he surmounted a succession of personal tragedies which would have defeated those with less grit and determination. At the age of 12 he contracted tuberculosis of the bone, which required the amputation of his left leg. The persistence of the disease necessitated long periods in hospital, and the constant use of a crutch which acted as his second leg. He lost more time from school following the death of his father, who left the family with debts following the bankruptcy of his bookselling business. But still Henley soldiered on, his eyes fixed on his future potential rather than his present misfortunes. His friend Robert Louis Stevenson wrote him a letter soon after the publication of Treasure Island saying: ‘I will now make a confession. It was the sight of your maimed strength and masterfulness that begat Long John Silver.’

Henley subsequently wrote a poem entitled Invicta which expressed his philosophy of life. It contains two lines which, more than a century after his death, continue to be an inspiration to millions. ‘I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.’  These were the lines that Nelson Mandela chose to pin to the wall of his prison cell during his twenty-seven year’s imprisonment.  The anti-apartheid campaigner knew that during his long incarceration he must still look to the future rather than wallow in past recriminations. That’s the attitude we should accept from childhood onwards. Nostalgia is delightful, but it climbs no mountains, ploughs no fields and discovers no uncharted territories. We must live constantly with the belief that, ‘The best is yet to be’. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. What will that future bring?  Excitement or boredom?  Happiness or despair? The choice lies in our own hands, as Henley affirmed. If we give up on life, life will give up on us. Time flies, but it doesn’t matter if you’re in the pilot’s seat and enjoying the trip. Our chronological age is fixed by the calendar, but our physiological age is determined by our mental attitude and life style choice.

Our bodies follow the script that our brains compose.  We should ignore the advice of well-meaning friends when they tell us to act our age. Instead, we should think ourselves young. We should look forward in eager anticipation, rather than reflect of past disappointments and set backs. By adopting this perspective we can increase both the quality and quantity of our days. This was revealed by sociologist David Phillips, who carried out a study of elderly Jews living in New York and Budapest, and found that people are less likely to die when they’re looking forward to an exciting event such as a ninetieth birthday, or a grandchild’s Bar Mitzvah. ‘Some people look forward to witnessing certain important occasions and are able to put off dying in order to do so,’ Phillips concluded.  If that’s the case, why don’t we all look forward to our hundredth birthday?

So much depends on our attitude of mind. It’s said that when the English retire they go to Bournemouth to die, whereas the Americans go to Florida to live. I had some confirmation of this when I spent two days in Fort Lauderdale, waiting to pick up a cruise liner to sail through the Panama Canal. There I encountered numerous septuagenarians wearing personal stereo headsets roller skating with care-free abandon down the promenade at Hollywood Beach. That’s the life affirming attitude we should all adopt. Anyone who wants to make the most of their sunset years should live are is they were going to die tomorrow, but make plans to live forever. As the author Joseph Heller said of one of his characters: ‘He had decided to live for ever, or die in the attempt.’

© Donald Norfolk 2010

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