One day at a time. One interaction with others at a time. One ride at a time. One meal/drink at a time. One song at a time. One sunrise at a time. One bit of work at a time. One walk with the dog at a time. One task in the garden at a time.

If I stay focused on what's in front of me right now, I end up being too engaged for age to mean a thing.

While this is certainly in the realm of a platitude, I didn't really learn the meaning of it until my oldest son taught me how to actually do it. We were on vacation in Europe and visited 11 museums in 8 days. On the third day I made the comment that I wasn't "seeing" anything any longer. I had seen too much and couldn't focus. My son, an artist himself, said I should spend the next hour with him. So, off we trotted. As we stopped to look at a Vermeer painting. He said, "Dad, right now this is the only painting here. There are no others. This is the one you must see. Just focus on this painting like it's the only one you'll ever see again." This from a 26 year old! Well, he was right. That afternoon I got a crash course in how to apply the platitude of one thing at a time. I felt more refreshed, less stressed, and more complete than I had in some time. When I asked him where he learned to do this, he smiled and said, "You taught me. Remember when I was struggling with math homework in middle school? You would sit with me and say, this is the only problem. We only have to solve this one. The others don't matter. This is the only one that matters."

Yeah 50 can be a mind trip, if you let it. However, I think it's better to let it go and just focus on what's in front of you right now.