Legacy. And Time.
The article began with the question, “How would you live if you knew you were going to die?”
The subject of the article—former U.S. Senator from Nebraska, Ben Sasse, who announced last December that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
In short, he was dying.
As someone who fervently believes that AGING IS LIVING, I have often wondered how people who’ve been given a terminal diagnosis decide to approach the end of their life.
With resignation? Resolve? Regret? A renewed sense of purpose or adventure?
Long story short, Senator Sasse decided to use the time he has left to do what he can to leave the world a better place than he found it.
As it turns out, the article was the transcript of an interview conducted by New York Times opinion columnist Ross Douthat that covered a broad range of topics: politics, higher education, the campaign trail, technology, Sasse’s cancer treatment, religion, his family.
What struck me about Sasse’s thoughts—regardless of the subject—was how common sensical they were. In fact, at one point during the interview, both Douthat and Sasse comment on how being told you’re dying gives a person a sort of “special wisdom” that exceeds their chronological age.
Rather than address the issues at hand at ground level, Sasse’s focus instead is broader, deeper, more visionary and aspirational.
For instance, Sasse—president of the University of Florida from 2023 to 2024—articulated his ideas about how institutions of higher education can do a better job of developing our nation’s young adults into broader educated, clearer thinking human beings, rather than merely aspiring professionals whose educations have focused more on training than on thought.
He believes that our education system should place a higher priority on the study of liberal arts—and on civics—not for the sake of nostalgia, but for the sake of our collective future. That having a better understanding of “from whence we came” (my words) will better inform where we want to go—and how we’re going to get there.
Finally, a devout Christian, Sasse reflects on the benefits of observing the Sabbath—of turning off our devices and spending meaningful time with the people we care about. He laments how intergenerational relationships have been replaced by age-segregated relationships (ostensibly due in part to the excess reliance on said devices)—and how both younger people and older adults are missing out by not engaging in these intergenerational exchanges.
Older age is sometimes referred to as “the winter of our lives”—suggesting that because our days are shorter, we have less time to do the things we want and need to get done.
But Sasse reminds us that having less time does not have to limit our goals, our vision, or the impact we want to have on this earth. Instead, it can serve as the inspiration for greater clarity of purpose, of thought, and of the legacy we want to leave.
Important food for thought for all of us—regardless of how old we are.