In Atul Gawande's book Being Mortal, he tells a story about a retired doctor he interviewed over a long period of time.
Felix Silverstone was a national leader in geriatrics for 50 years. So we would suppose that he had some understanding of the meaning of life when it comes to getting old. He finally had to retire at age 82. He and his wife Bella moved to a lovely retirement community. Felix was well aware of the changes taking place in his body.
But, Dr. Gawande says about Felix:
What buoyed him, despite his limitations, was having a purpose. It was the same purpose, he said, that sustained him in medicine: to be of service, in some way, to those around him.
He found the most meaning in being of service to Bella. She had serious memory issues and was blind. Dr. Gawande goes on to describe one of the most romantic paragraphs I've read in a long time.
He dressed her, bathed her, helped feed her. When they walked, they held hands. At night, they lay in bed in each other's arms, awake and nestling for a while, before finally drifting off to sleep. Those moments, Felix said, remained among their most cherished.
The meaning of life.
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