50% of Life

My favorite bit on NPR is the segment called “This I Believe.” It’s a re-creation of a 1950’s show where people – some famous, some not – read an essay on the beliefs they hold dear.

Of the ones I’ve heard so far, I liked “Finding Prosperity by Feeding Monkeys” best, but it’s nothing I can write about. Instead, I’ll talk about “The 50% Theory of Life.” (You can read or listen; I prefer listening.) The basic idea behind the essay is that 50% of life will be better than normal and 50% will be worse than normal. It’s a simple enough idea.

On one end of the spectrum he puts sickness and death, obvious enough. What I found interesting is the stuff he considers the counter-pole to these: romance, marriage to the right person, being a good dad. Is that as good as it gets? I mean, is that really what life has to offer to combat death and sickness?

There is some empirical evidence to back up the position. I had heard as much and a quick google search turned up that the chances of death spike immediately after the death of a spouse. A Finnish study concluded that the likelihood of death for a male within 6 months of the death of his wife was 30% in excess of the norm and 20% in excess after 6 months. For a woman, it was 20% and 10%. I can only imagine that these numbers would be higher for “good” marriages. Maybe that is as good as it gets. And maybe when that's gone, there's nothing left to offset the worst.

What else would you consider in the top decile of life?