Blue Zone - Loved one first.

As we explore the last several traits of the healthiest and longest living folks in the world, I find this group of behaviors the most intriguing, and frankly, the most troubling. ‘Loved ones first’ is the title and it’s pretty self-explanatory. In many cultures around the world, focus on family, ESPECIALLY the elderly, translates to a longer and healthier life. I think we need to take a step back and really contemplate this. The science shows that matters of the heart and soul do translate to actual health and longevity. I’ve often thought that our culture has a lot of room for improvement in this area. Now the data back that notion up. It sounds like that in many of these pockets of healthy people, having three or more generations of a family under the same roof or very nearby is quite common. Why do I find this troubling? I could do way better with the amount of time I spend with my family, especially my parents. My dad is gone now, and if I had any regrets so far in my life, that would be one of them, that Pop was too far down my list of what I held as important. I don’t have any real answers here, other than we all need to take a look at our lives, and make sure our priorities are in proper order. Change like this is hard. For some of us it might mean working less, which may mean having less. For others it might mean giving up some of our leisure activities and working harder to include our families in more of our day-to-day lives. Please understand, I know there are some of you out there that make tremendous sacrifices for your families, whether they be your children, spouses, or aging parents. I find your choices admirable and inspiring. Mom, I know you’re reading this. (Mom is my proofreader for all my newsletters- so she has to!). Just know that I’m going to try to be there more for you than I’ve been. You have my word.

Graphic above to read the Blue Zone article, you can view here.