BOOKS & MORE BOOKS: IF YOU LIVE TO 100, YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE HAPPY

 

"Life is a story that deserves to be read until the very last page. No one knows what the universe has in store for us. Happiness can be found in the most unexpected corners of everyday life."

Some books arrive in our lives exactly when we need them. I believe this was one of them.

I did not read If You Live to 100, You Might As Well Be Happy by Rhee Kun Hoo quickly. It was a book to be sipped slowly, one chapter at a time, allowing its reflections to settle in my mind.

I am at a stage of life that often leaves me restless. Time seems to have accelerated beyond measure. Retirement, once a distant concept, is slowly approaching. I find myself confronting the uncomfortable realization that I am no longer young and wondering what lies ahead. When a friend handed me this book after reading it herself, she must have sensed that I needed its wisdom.

Rhee Kun Hoo, one of South Korea's most respected psychiatrists, writes about aging, self-acceptance, gratitude, relationships, and the possibility of finding peace in later life. Drawing on both his professional experience and his own remarkably eventful life, he offers neither miracle solutions nor inspirational slogans. Instead, he shares something far more valuable: perspective.

One of the concepts that resonated most deeply with me is jung-gyeon, which he describes as the ability to see things as they truly are and to see ourselves as we truly are. Aging, he argues, requires precisely this kind of honesty. We must learn to acknowledge our limitations without bitterness and our emotions without shame. "Old age is not a punishment," he reminds us.

Again and again, the author returns to the importance of self-knowledge. "For a balanced existence, we must first know who we are," he writes. Meaningful work, fulfillment, even the ability to step aside gracefully when the time comes, all begin with understanding ourselves.

Among the many passages I underlined, one in particular stayed with me:

"The only truth is that your life has truly been your own choice. If you learn to accept it, you will be able to navigate toward tomorrow. Try to be proud of it."

Simple words, perhaps. Yet they carry remarkable power.

Another aspect I particularly enjoyed was the glimpse the book offers into Korean culture and modern Korean history. I have long been fascinated by Korea's transformation over the past century, and Rhee's personal memories provide a valuable perspective on a society that has changed dramatically while retaining strong ties to its traditions and values.

Does this book reveal some extraordinary secret that will transform aging into a joyful art? Not really. What it offers instead are small doses of wisdom, gentle observations and lessons drawn from a lifetime spent both living and listening to others.

And perhaps that is exactly why it works.

At a time when I find myself looking back as much as forward, this book offered neither false comfort nor easy answers. What it offered was something rarer: a compassionate reminder that every stage of life brings its own gifts and challenges and that happiness may still be waiting for us in places we have not yet thought to look.