The Ordinary can be Extraordinary
A couple years ago I watched a documentary on The Blue Zones. I wrote about it at the time and want to revisit it, again.
These Blue Zones around the world are places where people were living well into their 100th year, in good health and vitality. The documentary host visited all these very different parts of the world trying to find out their "secret". Interestingly, each country had different diets, environments and cultures.
But, what all these places had in common was each country's lifestyle. In each of these places, these seniors were active, lived with purpose and within a supportive community of both peers and often multi-generational families. Many of these countries held their elders in high esteem and their wisdom and life experiences were valued.
These seniors also lived simply and took pleasure in their everyday. Not because they never had any problems, but despite the many challenges, hardships and even hungry from world wars. When you have experienced the worse that life can throw at you and survive, you have one of two choices. Stay down...or rise up from the ashes and rebuild your life and your community.
In each case, these centenarians created lives of purpose for their own good and that of the next generation. In all cases, these folks lived close to the earth, growing gardens and eating from them. Most enjoyed a predominantly vegetarian diet, too. And the acts of tending their gardens was their exercise, as was walking a lot and spending lots of time outdoors.
In reflection, I think we can learn a lot from these seniors. You don't need the latest diets, exercise equipment or luxuries. What you need to live well is: a reason to get up each morning, good stress, understand what you're putting into your body and take care of it. Find joy in the simplicity of life, create an environment of kindness and fellowship and don't sweat the small stuff.
I have had the privilege of living in many different environments and countries, from a self-run farm where you ate only what you could produce, to large cities in multiple countries. And even though I love beautiful things and modern conveniences, I still carry within me that simply lifestyle of good fresh food, being active and letting the beauty of nature take my breath away.
So maybe an extraordinary life is actually the ordinary life, after all......
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