" From The Familiar Volume 5:

Charlie drains his glass. "That's true. Drinking helps."
Both men share a shallow laugh.
"Impressive," Astair says. "And you're still smiling." Charlie refills all their glasses (emptying the bottle (getting up (no doubt) to find another )). "Is drinking really your secret?"
"Not at all," Mr. Hatterly smiles (maybe a little softer this time (sadder?)). "I've actually given this a little thought. When we are young, we look forward to things: all the stuff we can see, do taste, and have. We're probably born with that. And for good reason: what we desire helps us to plan, to attain, to achieve. However, when you get older, when you look to the future, more and more you find illness and infirmity. Forget death itself, it's the dying that dominates the horizon. Which is where the trouble comes in: a lifetime spent looking forward makes for a lot of frightened, angry, old people. Charlie and I made a vow when we met to practice looking at one thing every day. A vow we've kept. Can you guess?"
"The practice of looking at what's now?
"Oh no, we're not that enlightened! We look at each other. We pay attention to each other. "

― Mark Z. Danielewski , One Rainy Day in May (The Familiar #1)