The Third Life

The day I enter my Third Life. I thought it was still a long way off. But it is finally here. Without any warning, the day came for me too. The ten years between the ages of seventy and eighty comprise the last mentally and physically active phase of life. What should people do in these final ten active years of their lives? What should people do before the wind of impermanence signals that it is time to leave this world? I have never taken life more seriously. To enrich my Third Life, I will free myself from invisible chains: letting go of the burdens from my past. It is good to have a lifelong hobby. But I never really thought of "tanka" poetry as a hobby. For me, writing tanka was food to survive each day in the harsh reality of the human world. In my First Life, I depended on my parents. After finishing my years as a student, my Second Life was a life devoted almost solely to work: mostly teaching at a university, there were limits to what I could decide on my own. But my Third Life is different. Most important is the fact that how I live in my old age is in my hands. I am the one to decide not to regret: to protect my independence.

Autorentext
Yukiko Inoue-Smith, PhD, Professor Emerita, has been extensively involved in work with tanka. She is the author of two collections of essays and eighteen books of tanka poems. Two recent tanka books are: Love, Beauty, and Hope; and Ancient Form, Modern Soul. Her journey in search of where she belongs will continue, with two cats as companions.