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  • 16 hours ago
The Good LIfe is based on the best-selling book by Drs. Robert Waldinger and Marc Schulz, directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, colloquially known as the “Harvard Happiness Study.” It’s the world’s longest running scientific study of happiness, initiated in 1938. The film follows five characters - Sabih Mir, a doorman who is just confronting retirement; Chris Taylor, a young dancer with the Alvin Ailey company, who is trying to understand what it means to age when your body is your livelihood and identity; D'yan Forest, a 91 yr old comedian, the world's oldest according to the Guiness book of records; Sally Quinn - journalist, novelist, and wife of the legendary Washington Post editor, Ben Bradlee; and John and Jay, two men in their 60s who have just adopted a young boy. All of them are trying to understand what it means to get older, or as we see it, to grow up. Featuring appearances by Rita Moreno, Susie Essman, Bernie Williams and Neil de Grasse Tyson.
Transcript
00:06I never thought I would live past the age of 30 when I was young.
00:11I thought, no, that's just not possible.
00:16None of the milestone birthdays had any effect on me until 70.
00:23And 70, I was like, oh, I'm old.
00:2670 is not old.
00:2880 is when it really sounds old.
00:31Some days I feel like I'm 80.
00:34Some days I feel like I'm 30.
00:35I am 93.
00:37Do I feel old?
00:39I don't.
00:42The gateway to getting old is 50.
00:44To me, it's 50.
00:48I look at younger people and say, oh, I want that again.
00:54Who will take care of me when I cannot take care of me?
00:59You feel invisible.
01:03You don't really count.
01:07Is aging just one big mistake in the universe?
01:10Should we not be aging?
01:13Aging certainly means different things to different people.
01:18For some people, it means freedom.
01:22I don't feel like I'm a grumpy old man.
01:27As you get older, you don't care what people think about you.
01:31Go crazy as you get older.
01:34That's my advice.
01:37For me, 70 did start the clock counting down.
01:42You start to look at the future in terms of how much time is left
01:46instead of how long I've been here.
01:51And in fact, because life is really short,
01:55it is the great motivator for human connection.
02:01Mathematically, if you live forever,
02:04that might mean you live a life of no meaning at all.
02:09What's your motivator if there's always a tomorrow?
02:13Cheers!
02:16To happiness!
02:18So what is it that makes a good life?
02:21Ready.
02:22Oh, Jesus.
02:24Maybe it's not about your fancy car.
02:27It's not even about winning the Nobel Prize.
02:29Maybe it's about who you love,
02:33who loves you,
02:35being connected to people you care about.
02:38What?
02:39You really want to pull that?
02:40And if you do that,
02:42you have a better chance of living longer.
02:54When we're not alone,
02:58that's what accounts for all the richness in life.
03:02La-la-la-la-la...
03:04La-la-la-la-la-la-la...
03:06La-la...
03:10La-la-la...
03:18You

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