Keeping your pecker up!

 First of all, for those Americans who were wondering..."keeping your pecker up" is a British expression for staying enthusiastic, being in positive spirits, and being generally well. For the British readers, a "pecker" in America is that thing gentlemen use for more than just peeing. 

This blog is to chart my own progress as I age and attempt to ward off all the associations so many people have with aging: that we become useless, bitter and twisted, lose all sense of adventure and fade, a little bit further every day, towards that hole in the ground and an eternity of no longer existing.

It's my intention to share, as much as I can, my own experience of aging, and any nuggets of wisdom and knowledge I gain as I experiment with staying as youthful as I can by exploring neuroplasticity, educating myself, and keeping up the kinds of hobbies that I think should help any of us as we age.

A little bit about myself: I was an actor, on and off, and grew up in the UK before a whole bunch of things happened over a very short period of time throughout the 1990s which sent me into a deep depression and a place of desperation. 

Out of a sense of despair, I chose to reinvent myself, did a bunch of things that I hoped would reengage my spirit, get my life back on track, and get me over the depression and self loathing that had followed me much of my life.

In 1997, at the age of 40, I came to America with just a guitar, a suitcase and $350 in cash. I didn't know anyone, and flew into Phoenix as a symbol of rebirth. I arrived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I did odd jobs to survive, and started on my journey of reinvention.

At 66, I feel ready to take my adventures to a new level as I explore self and aging, and see what I can do to further enhance my life. A couple of years ago, at 63, I rode a motorcycle across India, Scuba dived in Thailand, and circumnavigated the planet for the first time. Currently I'm studying English and psychology, plus dipping my toes into neuroscience as I explore my own aging process, attempt to get my health to the best I can, and make the most of my remaining years.