Everything happens to everybody sooner or later if there is time enough - G B Shaw

Everyone decodes the essence and significance of this highly incisive quote sooner or later if there is time enough.

Part of the five-part play cycle Back to Methusalah by this Dublin-born genius and pioneer of the 'theatre of ideas', it packs quite a punch:

...the idea that we don't live long enough to become truly wise,

...the hint that we will grasp life in all its forms and flavours if we manage to stretch our lifespan out far enough,

...the belief in time as a powerful engine of change and transformation, which is why staying put helps strenghten resolution and enrich experience,

...the premise that surreal or freak occurrences are called so, simply because they haven't happened to all of us yet,

...the proposition that we are not uniquely blessed or cursed, and individual discoveries are more a function of probabilistic chance than wilful design,

...and of course, many more layers of meaning delightfully open to a lifetime of interpretation.

PS: Had Shaw been in our midst today, would he have considered the role of cognitive aging, or would he have underlined the effect of carefully preserved neuroplasticity?

Can't tell for sure!