What does the popular phrase, “life begins at forty” mean?
There is a difficulty in answering such a question because life itself is hard to define. Its meaning is more unfathomable than the deepest part of the ocean. When I asked people about their idea on this matter, they could not give a specific answer, some answers are diverse and others just say that they do not know.
My curiosity was triggered once again by this perplexing question. With a few tap-taps and click-clicks on Google, lo and behold my computer screen was populated with a wide array of references! Consequently, I need to sort out which content is relevant to the issue at hand. I tried to digest and ingest the ones I read and to paraphrase them in the easiest way I can.
Origin of the Phrase
I found out that before the phrase “life begins at forty” came about, it was more popular to say “death begins at forty” because during the early 20th century, the average life expectancy was 40 years old. When life expectancy has become longer, this average no longer holds true.
The first documented reference to the phrase dates back in 1912. A certain Mrs. Theodore Parsons of Chicago in her book, “Brain Culture Through Scientific Body Building” states that “[T]he best part of a woman’s life begins at forty.” Women during that time were mainly confined at home to do domestic chores and to rear the children. But at forty, they became free from such responsibilities and had time in taking care of their own selves.
Fast forward to the future, it was made popular by a man named Walter Pitkin, an American psychologist, who published a book entitled, “Life Begins at Forty” in 1932. He said:
“Life begins at forty. This is the revolutionary outcome of our New Era. Today it is half a truth. Tomorrow it will be an axiom.”
When it became part of the mainstream media, it was even used as a title of a 1947 audio recording, that is, “Life Begins at Forty” by Sophie Tucker (hear it here and read the lyrics here).
However, sometime in the mid 21st century, psychologists concluded that it is only a myth because when a person reaches 40 years old, he starts to become forgetful, have less concentration and suffer poor focusing ability. The young opines that getting older means becoming miserable. But this was disputed by researchers from Queen’s University in Belfast in 2008 who published in their study that “old age does not mean a decline in happiness – older people are just as happy as younger people.”
Where do I start?
Just like the singer of the song, “Love Story” I was clutching on air in answering the same. Then came my “Eureka” moment. I will start my 40th year of earthly existence by creating my own website where I planned to post the photographs I have taken pretending to be a photographer. I do not know if you have read in blogs, tweets or wall posts a not so encouraging message that goes something like “not all who hold DSLRs are photographers” with a picture of a monkey holding a DSLR camera. These egoistic people should mind that they were once “monkeys”, too before they were able to master their own bananas.
The website will also contain my own blogs in every subject matter that I can think of. Some people who sought my legal advice online via Facebook messenger and email suggested to me why should I not create an online medium where I can put legal resources and give legal advices to people who need one. By the way, in my pro bono “online service,” I was asked issues about annulment or nullity of marriage vis-a-vis bigamy and infidelity, dual citizenship, property relations between spouses or those in a dating relationship, custody of children, and the drafting of an appeal against the refusal of the British embassy in Manila to grant visas to the applicants.
Through such online legal advice, I may be able to supplant the already existing repositories of legal advice and the law by colleagues in the profession. This will also keep me abreast of the updates in the legal profession and latest Suprme Court doctrines.
Then came another twist in my life days before my 40th mark. My friend, Jassin Fuentes from Manchester, England called me about some events and projects that he was planning. He wanted me to play a part in his projects and activities. He spearheaded the first ever 2014 Search for Mutya ng Pilipinas-United Kingdom the winner of which will be UK’s bet in the grand Search for Mutya ng Pilipinas in Manila. He made me a legal adviser of its Organising Committee. Jassin is also the franchise holder of OFWorld United Kingdom, a news, entertainment and society tabloid for global Pinoys (the publication owner is based in Italy). It will be circulated for free around the UK and a small amount of fee is to be paid for subscriptions. He requested me to write articles for it. I do not want to divulge all of the details yet until the final product is fully cooked. But all the ingredients have already been mixed together and only the seasoning needs to be taken care of. I will definitely reveal them in my succeeding blogs.
I am also beginning anew my paralegal studies which I started ages ago but did not complete because of work and family related obligations that is exacerbated by my lazy bone. After confirming that I am still enrolled in the program, the National Association of Licensed Paralegals (NALP) sent me the updated course modules. I have also renewed my yearly Affiliate Membership thereof.
The most important of all is my refreshed pledge to my own family: my wife, Sharlene and my two boys, Neo Shane and Lex Matthew, 5 and 2 years old, respectively, to be a more responsive and a more responsible husband and father. Years have already gone but it seems like I am still in a state of limbo with no sense of direction being blinded by my desire to go back home to the Philippines to pursue what could have been a fulfilling career. My classmates and batchmates have already soared high in the legal arena but here I am with clipped wings and slowly having a stagnant brain and sitting at a corner giving free online legal advice and services.
Reaching the age of forty made me look back of what I have accomplished so far. I am happy and contended of what I had already achieved. It may not be as grandeur as I want them to be but I know that I have developed my own well being and rendered service to the people in one way or another. Although these accomplishments and qualifications figuratively went into the drain when I decided to choose my family rather than my professional career, I managed to keep my family intact and experienced first hand in rearing my children.
All I can say at this point is the same cliché immortalised by Michael Buffer: “Let’s get ready to rumble!”