There is an article in the papers today which suggests that people do not age in the same way, some age three times faster than others. To support the idea that its all in the genes? I would like to think that my general 'good health' life, until recently that is, is down to me not smoking, not being overweight, not eating meat, having an optomistic personality (hopefully) I like getting up in the morning and am always interested (nosey?) in the world and the people around me.
Hiking for me is great, it makes physical and mental demands on me, it can test me to the limit, it 'forces' me to make contact with complete strangers and it makes me belive I am not dead yet. My mother always believed that a lot of people who are alive physically yes, but in reality are just cruising through life and have been so, even from childhood, are just waiting to die. A bit crude I know but she always judged that people who look forward to the coming day will always enjoy a better quality of life than those who hate getting up in the morning. She believed this small measure was what distingushed one person from another.
Sorry, I cannot see what benefits are to do with it. Over my life I have met some people who have enjoyed a fantastic quality of life on the least amount of money. Is life only about being a worker drone? Its an attitude to life thing I think, work for me has always been just a means to an end, not something I woulkd judge my life against.