I will keep this post short. I want to make a suggestion which I think relates to the concept of being truly informed. The next time you read a news story and begin to find yourself forming an opinion, immediately try to find alternate viewpoints. You can listen for them in the news or you can easily go online. Next try to ensure that you fully understand the arguments being made from all sides of the story that you have found. I will pick up from here next time.
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Check out the below story. I think from the title that it’s quite self-explanatory . I always take heed when someone of this age dies.
CBC News – World – P.E.I.-born woman dies at 114 (Don’t worry this will open in a new window) Come back when you’re done reading.
Something I’ve thought about on/off over the years is what lessons could someone who lives to 100+ teach us. These lessons would certainly be helpful for anyone, I think, who wants to optimize their health. So I wanted to include some observations on centenarians.
I tend to think that there must be more to becoming a centernariun than pure chance whether it’s intentional or not. Because it is difficult to study centenariuns as a group we need to infer certain things from what we know about them.
One important feature is that they are hardly ever what could be called lazy people. Those who live more than a hundred years have nearly always been more mobile and physically active than the average. In particular, they have frequently been vigorous walkers or cyclists. I do not mean to imply that they were athletes it is a strange fact that athletes do not live longer than the rest of us. Violent exercise seems to take its toll on the human body. But the long-lived did take steady, relaxed exercise on an almost daily basis. Madame Calment, for example, was still riding her bicycle around Arles when she was 100.
Mental exercise seems to be as important as physical activity. Nearly all the centenarians retained a sharp interest in the world around them. They still had a zest for life, right to the end. My favourite example is Margaret Murray, the archaeologist, who wrote a book with the wonderful title of My First Hundred Years. Above all, the very long-lived lacked nostalgia. They didnt look back to the good old days they felt that the good days were still ahead of them.
A sense of humour also appeared to be an important ingredient. Most centenarians managed to keep a twinkle in their eyes even if their vision was not as good as it used to be. This twinkle not only reflected that fact that they still found life entertaining, but also revealed that the endorphins released by laughter were still helping to flood their aged bodies with natures in-built pain-killers.
Other qualities that appeared time and again among the centenarians were: a degree of self-discipline a tendency to organise their lives and to impose a pattern on their daily routines; moderation in eating most of them avoided over-eating and under-eating and fad diets were nowhere to be found; moderation in drinking many of them enjoyed alcohol, but only in small, regular amounts; a focus on things outside themselves without too much introspection or self-examination; and finally, and most importantly, a calm, even-tempered nature.
If these are the qualities that are typical of the 100+ survivors, then they must surely give us some clues as to how we, who have not yet reached that extraordinary age, can best increase our chance of getting there.
I tend to think that there must be more to becoming a centernariun than pure chance whether it’s intentional or not. Because it is difficult to study centenariuns as a group we need to infer certain things from what we know about them.
One important feature is that they are hardly ever what could be called lazy people. Those who live more than a hundred years have nearly always been more mobile and physically active than the average. In particular, they have frequently been vigorous walkers or cyclists. I do not mean to imply that they were athletes it is a strange fact that athletes do not live longer than the rest of us. Violent exercise seems to take its toll on the human body. But the long-lived did take steady, relaxed exercise on an almost daily basis. Madame Calment, for example, was still riding her bicycle around Arles when she was 100.
Mental exercise seems to be as important as physical activity. Nearly all the centenarians retained a sharp interest in the world around them. They still had a zest for life, right to the end. My favourite example is Margaret Murray, the archaeologist, who wrote a book with the wonderful title of My First Hundred Years. Above all, the very long-lived lacked nostalgia. They didn’t look back to the good old days they felt that the good days were still ahead of them.
A sense of humour also appeared to be an important ingredient. Most centenarians managed to keep a twinkle in their eyes even if their vision was not as good as it used to be. This twinkle not only reflected that fact that they still found life entertaining, but also revealed that the endorphins released by laughter were still helping to flood their aged bodies with natures in-built pain-killers.
Other qualities that appeared time and again among the centenarians were: a degree of self-discipline a tendency to organise their lives and to impose a pattern on their daily routines; moderation in eating most of them avoided over-eating and under-eating and fad diets were nowhere to be found; moderation in drinking many of them enjoyed alcohol, but only in small, regular amounts; a focus on things outside themselves without too much introspection or self-examination; and finally, and most importantly, a calm, even-tempered nature.
If these are the qualities that are typical of the 100+ survivors, then they must surely give us some clues as to how we, who have not yet reached that extraordinary age, can best increase our chance of getting there.
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Julian Lennon on John
In the previous post I featured a video on love. I came across this video of Julian Lennon talking about John Lennon and really thought it was a good one for anyone who has kids, or for that matter, anyone. Bottom Line: You can be the most successful and amazing person in the world (in many regards) but if you don’t take time to give love to your children then are you such a great person after all? Many famous “great” people have shared this same dynamic with respect to their domestic life, unfortunately. Watch this video and see what you think. Feel free to leave a comment.
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What Is Love?
Happy upcoming Valentines Day…from some interesting thinkers! This quick little video offers some interesting “nuggets.” It started me thinking about carrying variations of “love” forward into our day to day lives, just by following up with a simple question “how”?
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I was reading an article in the Globe and Mail which discussed the fact that more people have left the province Alberta than immigrated to it. More specifically more people from other Canadian provinces had left Alberta than entered it; however, ultimately in the time frame referenced, the population of Alberta did grow, although you would not know it from the article. Immigrants from other countries caused Alberta’s overall population to grow.
What’s this have to do with anything?
Well it serves an example to anyone who truly wants to be informed: the lesson to take from this is that it’s not necessarily what is said in an article but what is not said. Although what was stated in the article was not actually false, it did not present all relevant facts in my opinion. The problem, though, is that the overall impression the reader may be left with is false – without having the additional information, that is. Fortunately I had obtained the additional information by having more than one source of information.
So it’s important to always consult more than one source of information and ask yourself whether all the important facts are likely included in a story whenever you read them.
This is yet another way of being informed and empowered in today’s world where much information is thrown at you. By doing this you put yourself ahead of many who will never take the time to be truly informed.
Happy Holidays!
Matthew
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Categories: Truly Being Informed Tags: media coverage
Yes there are some interesting findings which pick up on the theme of the purpose of life and in particular retirement or the idea of not having to work again. This time it’s not just an opinion but the findings are backed by solid, scientific, research. Check out this great podcast from CBC Radio’s program “The Current” Click here for instant access of the podcast.
Categories: The Purpose of Life Tags: cbc radio podcast, purpose of life, retirement, the current
The Purpose of Life
Now you might not be old enough to remember Richard Nixon and either way you might not like him.
However he revealed something very profound in an interview with David Frost.
I think you should really give this a serious listen and move beyond the person. The message is universal. Check it out!
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Andrew Weil, M.D. — WHY OUR HEALTH MATTERS
I think it’s important for folks to look at the important aspects of healthcare reform, what really needs to be addressed. In this video see why Dr. Weil says conventional systems are doomed to fail if they do not include these things.
There are additional lessons to be learned here:
1. We can play a proactive role in our health as individuals
2. We can form a positive influence on others
3. Adequate health is necessary for parts of a proper functioning society
4. Everyone / everything has a role to play
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