Longevity

When I was in grade school we had to do speeches as part of our curriculum, while I never loved doing them, I always loved listening to them.  We’d sit on the floor, someone behind me would inevitably play with my hair or draw on my back, which I loved, and the topics others chose were always incredibly fascinating to me … life underwater … living to be 100.  

It was during a speech someone gave about their grandparent celebrating 100 years that I decided to live to be 100.  My family thought I was crazy and no one wanted to live that long, which I thought was crazy.  It was a lovely round number and the perfect number of years for a lifetime.  

As I’ve gotten older, I haven’t changed my mind about the 100 years, if anything, that feels less like my deciding and more just my knowing.  I have, however, begun to understand why people think it is too long, why the idea seems crazy.  It’s less about living to 100 and more about what aging and 100  looks like, in my world, it looks like a high possibility of dementia, which I understand less but appreciate more -  if that makes any sense.  

What I’ve started realizing, I don’t believe the narratives around aging.  Don’t misunderstand, I get my migraines are considered a risk factor, my genetic profile would suggest problematic odds.  Those things I have no control over.  So, I’ve started researching all the things related to longevity, focussing on what I do have control over.  

I have control over my mindset; my beliefs, my attitudes and the narratives I choose to tell myself.  I have control over my nutrition; the foods I choose to eat, how I eat, and the intention around preparing those meals.  I also have control over my movement; what and how I move, the focus on mobility, joint health and maintaining muscle mass.  I also have control over lifestyle … ongoing education, meditation and breathwork to manage my mindset and stress levels, my sleep schedule and my connection to my purpose and community.  This is where my DNA and my genetics are actually working in my favour.  

Here me out on this … the migraines gave me a choice, accept the pain or investigate prevention.  I chose the latter - obviously.  I’ve experienced the benefits of anti-inflammatory foods because I chose to take back control - or some semblance of control - of my body, instead of it controlling me.  The research on cognitive health and anti-inflammatory foods is encouraging, in some ways my body has been telling me what I needed this whole time.  I have also seen, heard and felt the fear, the confusion and the sadness dementia creates.  I don’t want that for anyone, myself included. The emotions are powerful and create an intense why behind my choices.  

Spoiler: I am not a doctor, a naturopath, dietician etc.  I didn’t love the sciences and left them for math in school.  While I have the capacity to think, reason and feel my way through data, what rings true, what doesn’t, what appears to be credible sources, how dated or supported studies may or may not appear to be … I’m in no way an expert and the volume of conflicting information is a little overwhelming.  So, I sought some professional advice.  

This advice helped prune the information, helped me create some tweaks to my current choices and will help fill in the gaps that exist for me.  It was refreshing and somewhat odd to sit down and discuss my concerns, be seen and heard as an individual … while I am human, I am also unique.  While what I’m doing or what was recommended isn’t new or revolutionary, it considers how my body behaves, reacts, it’s current and ideal states and aligned accordingly.  

There is no silver bullet, no magic potion … that’s ok.  I have this belief that the body itself is magic … it has the capacity to do what I need it to do, it just needs a little help, a little care, and a little love.  

My goal isn’t to live forever … that would be lonely.  100 years is the exact number I need … I want.  The goal is to live those years … healthy, mobile, strong.  To have a life that is filled with the most amazing experiences, people and all the feelings I’ve been gifted with feeling.

The goal is to live - fully and then, meet death with no regrets and ready for the next adventure.