When I was a teenager I was amazed at how ignorant my dad was. Yet, by the time I’d reached my late 20’s, I became aware of how much more he had learned. As a teen I never dreamed of being ‘fifty’. In fact, that age seemed like one foot in the grave. Sixty was ‘retired’. Now at 66 I feel as hungry for life as I did at 20.
I’ve always seemed to have the attitude that the finality of life was for other people. Somehow, through healthy eating and plenty of exercise, the brevity of life on earth wouldn’t be a concern for me.
Then at Christmas a daughter gave me the book ‘The Blue Zones’ by top selling author, Dan Buettner. Anticipating my views of ‘never-ending life’ spurred by the secret of exercise/diet would be reinforced by the book, the surprise has instead been a reality check. It seems the decline of health, musculature and mobility and finality of this life, is inevitable. Dam!
But the BIG positive is that you CAN positively impact and extend your twilight years with – yes, regular exercise, cardio, muscle strengthening, balance improving, the attention to healthy eating and the maintaining and appreciation of valued relationships in your life.
This question by Steven Astrad sums things up; “…. if you live to one hundred years old, what sort of condition will you be in? Are you going to be bedridden and unable to take care of yourself? Or are you going to be reasonably independent? To me that’s what best health practices can really have an impact on” – The Blue Zones
