Dear World,
Define the adjective long
– lasting or taking a great amount of time –
“a long and distinguished career” or “a very long life”
I’ve even gone as far as to ask the Internet and AI about the part of speech of ‘long’ in the phrase as stated in the title. Here’s the response:
The word “long” in the phrase “a very long life” functions as an adjective. It describes the noun “life” by indicating its duration.
I promise you, this is not an English lesson. I only wanted to establish the meaning and general view of ‘long’ before delving into my own points of view.
Length and quality
You know, regardless of its official definition and our individual conceptualisation of the word and the phrase in question, ‘a very long life’, in my opinion, is about what you do with the life you have. So, I guess I mean to say that ‘a very long life’ is more about the quality of the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years than it is about how long we actually live.
Some folks who have lived rather short (in time) lives have been considered to have lived very long lives because they ceased the days that they were given.
Conversely, some people who have lived for years have been said to just have lived for many years as opposed to a long and wholesome life. Additionally, some who have lived for many years could be considered as having lived a very long and wholesome life. The same principle can be applied for those with shorter life cycles.
By the way, ‘ceasing day’, for me, doesn’t always mean approaching every single day with vim and vigour. Sometimes, it will look like a hurkle durkle kind of day, and that’s perfectly okay.
Health and well-being
Sure, leading a healthy life is paramount to giving yourself the best chances at a long and fulfilling life. However, you could be the healthiest person ever and still suffer a heart attack or a stroke. A bus could strike you, leading to fatal injuries, and the list of potential incidents and accidents is never-ending.
I’m not trying to deter you from leading as healthy a life as possible. I only want to say that no matter how health conscious you are or aren’t, it’s critical to take advantage of the time you have. Make good use of it. That’s where the quality comes in. One hour for you might be fulfilling while the same hour for someone else might be a waste of time.
Added to that, identify what contributes to the quality of your life. We don’t all like the same things or find joy in the same things. So, knowing our likes and dislikes can add more time to our potentially very long and wholesome lives.
If you’re looking for the explicitly stated lessons, read it again, they’re there. Perhaps they’re in-between he lines.
Making sense?
Signed in pensive thought,
The Suburban Girl JA®
The Suburban Girl JA® 