If I'm not at my peak right now, I'm very close to it. My peak may be in the recent past, or now, or later than now. I can't even tell. All that I CAN know, is that whenever my peak is, was not more than five years ago at the most, and I may not even be there yet.
I will say that at 76 I still have the stamina that I have always historically had. It's actually easier for me to do a hike that gains 1000 feet of elevation NOW, than even forty years ago.
I can't remember being "bothered" by anything internally (i. e., thoughts/the brain/inner demons) for at least two years. This is entirely unprecedented for me.
My mind is as sharp as it ever was. I'm noticing myself STILL hearing perhaps the first note or two of some 1960s or 1970s song that almost never ever gets played at all, and sometimes identifying the song instantly from that sketchy information, perhaps even if it's a song I never cared all that much for and I haven't heard it in decades.
Admittedly my sex drive has almost entirely disappeared, and even "doing it myself" takes some effort. I'm pretty sure that I will never again have an actual orgasm with a man again, because the physical contact itself elicits other sensations (the magic of touch, empathy and hyper-awareness, an intense feeling of giving comfort, a strong feeling of spirituality whether it's real or a placebo, exceptional mellowness, etc.) which are far stronger and even more pleasant than the strong feelings of SEX AND HORNINESS that I reveled in three or four decades ago.
Financially, I'm not ABSOLUTELY secure. A really horrific health misadventure could still strip me clean. (USA! USA! USA! WE'RE NUMBER ONE! NOT! Best health care in the world for those who can afford it...) However, these 6-3/4 years of my Eighth Decade so far, have been my most-financially-healthy ever. I am living in a city that I am dearly in love with, for the first time. I still have my health, and I just completed a 7,000+ mile 38-day road trip that covered 26 different states, pretty much effortlessly. My confidence and can-do-ness has never been better. I already know that whatever happens politically here in the coming years (even if civil war or such), I'll just *DEAL* and continue to be the best human being to everybody that I can in "real time". I'm surrounded by so much political ROT (which, um, also works in German because so much of it is coming from "RED" politicians and states) and so much CULT, that I've quadrupled-down on all that is not those things. I feel comfortable and content, and realize the fact that I am at least not aware of any more inner demons may be a rather rare thing. Though the "clock" will resume its normal direction sometime in the next three or four months at the most, I feel that I've aged backwards since last June, due to all of the hiking I've done since then, something like 860 miles of walking.
I feel that the near-complete absence of sexual urges and libido are NOT in any way unfortunate, nor an impediment to me. I'm entirely good with it. It was always a kind of "brain fog" if I can call it that, which would usually conceal the minutiae and subtle nuances in various aspects of life, which I now feel more sensitive to. I have transitioned into "EMPATH territory" in my 70s, the past two or three years. What is very unusual, is that when an "empathy dump" is necessary (such as consoling somebody in deep bereavement, or somebody who is profoundly depressed), that is supposed to be very draining emotionally. Somehow it "exercises and bulks-up" my empathy in ways that usually more than replace the amount "dumped" and I often feel more energized after than before, knowing that I've done something good for somebody by being "there" for them. Chicago has more nude men's "touch" events (platonic or on the outermost fringes of sexual libido), and some clothed cuddle events for men (and sometimes for men-and-women) than, as far as I know, ANY other U. S. city. Those are also extremely energizing and I've grown from them. I get recharged even more when I'm in New Jersey, especially with my friends in Metuchen, and Sausy and his brother.
I hope this keeps up for a good while. Health trajectories in the future are NEVER certain at any age, and the "externals" are entirely a wild card, but let's all Keep The Faith and fight the good fight.
