enJoy Life Adventures

Longevity Stories

Joy practising yoga on the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert, Morocco. Captured by David Masefield

Longevity: age is just a number, baby!

First, let me clarify that this section is called longevity because it is about the things that I am doing or working on, with the goal of living longer.

I believe that there is no point in living longer though unless I am actually living a life that I enjoy. One that makes me want to jump out of bed most mornings and greet the day like Snow White singing to the birds from her balcony. 

Of course, there is also great enjoyment to be found curled up in a warm bed late into a cold windy day if you have a good book or someone to snuggle with.

The longevity stories will cover topics that I feel influence the potential for me to improve how many years in my life and equally, how much life I can put into those years.

The important thing to you is not how many years in your life, but how much life in your years!

– Edward J. Stieglitz

Aging is the enemy of long life

About ten years ago, I finally started to make changes to my choices, that would be considered beneficial if I want to live longer. 

Part of this journey has been learning the difference between age and aging, and being alive and living. There are so many factors that influence parts of my body that I did not even know existed inside me. 

While my results have been obvious to anyone that knew me prior to making the decision to step through the looking glass, they are definitely still a work in progress. There have been ups and downs, both physically and mentally.

To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.

– Leonard Bernstein

Time keeps on ticking

Now, I am not a nutritionist, personal trainer, doctor (I faint at the sight or thought of blood) or psychologist. I don’t know why some things work for some people and do not work for others. 

I do know that there are some pretty basic, common-sense approaches that I can take to increase my chances of having enough years available to do maybe half the things on my bucket list. 

Having a list, written down, makes a huge difference. Why? Well apart from being excited about things, it also encourages me to make a plan to be prepared to do those things. 

If I want to kayak the length of the Hudson River in upstate New York, I need to be:

  • able to fit in the kayak
  • strong enough to paddle for hours
  • aware of the fuel my body needs
  • able to sleep to restore my energy

None of those happens by accident, or overnight. They are the result of many conscious decisions and actions. 

My goal is to live in a body that is ready to perform whenever I make the choice to enjoy life.

xo Joy

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