The procession of a good life is akin to a symphony. The first movement of life (childhood) is an introduction of ideas and themes. It defines the territory based on familial and cultural norms. The child isn't fully aware of the shaping that is taking place, but personality and predispositions are forming and long term patterns are precipitating.
The second movement of life begins in adolescence and continues through adulthood. The young adult is now confronted with the trials and tribulations of growing wiser, rife with contradictions and deep questioning.
The third movement is a dance in which the majority of life's major obstacles have been overcome and the older adult can now enjoy the spoils of hard work and commitment, no longer burdened by having to sort through as much internal uncertainty. They become a positive guiding force for following generations.
The final movement of life is a return to childhood's original themes--the resolution of a life that has been fully lived with the source that gave it form. Here, a deep sense of peace is finally accomplished.
The Cult of Anti-Aging
Anti-aging is a major theme in the popular media, but it is nothing new. The quest for the fountain of youth is as old as human culture itself. As a species we have always been interested in living to the best of our abilities for as long as possible. This is a natural, appropriate and healthy drive towards life. But it can become perverted by the ego’s unhealthy attachment to preservation of the past and its resistance to embracing change.
If you take a random sampling of sixty-year-olds and ask them if they would prefer to return to their thirties but leave behind the life experience they have since gained, the majority would answer in the negative. Happiness and satisfactions over the life span is actually best described by an inverse bell curve. It is highest in youth but dwindles until it reaches a nadir in midlife; it rises again as we reach our later years. How well we work through the conflicts that arise during the 'messy middle' seems to be the best determinate on how quickly and how long the second half of life will be.
Obviously, a loving and nurturing childhood is vitally important to our continued quality of life, but it is no guarantee of it. Many a privileged youth has fallen down the rabbit hole of negative behavior and self sabotage. The formidable years that mark the change from adolescence into adulthood are what set the tone for how we will handle the succeeding decades, and this is truly where anti-aging techniques can begin to emerge as useful. In our late twenties to our late forties, our bodies undergo a dramatic shift metabolically and cognitively. If we become complacent during these years, it means the difference between living in to our 90s and 100s versus living until our 60s and 70s.
Community is Immunity
The foundational piece to living longer and healthier is cultivating a community of loving people around us. There is no amount of supplementation, exercise, or sleep that can ever replace this sense of belonging. A community is strongest when its members look after one another and have a sense of shared identity and mutual respect. We mustn't always agree with everyone in the community, but we must always be willing to learn from differences and move forward productively. Family networks are often the strongest types of communities and should be cherished deeply, but friend and work networks can become family-like as well. The golden rule with community is that we only get what we put in, so it is essential to not get complacent. A dinner party, a walk in the park, or simply a phone call with friend may make the difference between staying connected, or dispersing completely.
Fostering Discipline
The second most obvious area for living longer is to avoid stupid mistakes. Drugs, alcohol, risky behavior, and the like all fall into this category. Warren Buffet, the world's richest man, didn't start that way. He made his fortune by investing in safe and stable companies over many decades, while avoiding high risk ones. That's it. The only real magic was discipline. When the market tanked, he didn't change his strategy, he just kept doing what he knew worked--investing in companies that had a proven track record of profit. If we apply the same logic to our lives we would do the simple things that we know produce health in the middle and long term, and not turn to easy solutions to our problems.
The Healthy Triad
The next three areas of longevity are integrally linked and can't really be separated in terms of importance. They are sleep, nutrition and exercise. These form a triad for maintaining balanced mental and physical health, upon which our sense of wellbeing rests. These three areas will be in constant flux throughout the lifespan, but the basic principles apply no mater how old you are. We should be exercising in such a way that challenges our bodies and causes us to adapt to become stronger and we should be feeding and resting our bodies enough to fuel that adaptation. Multiple variations on this theme exist, but that this the gist of all of them. Going back to the previous point, we should avoid fad diets and exercise programs that promise more than they can deliver, and we should avoid things that harm us. The simple, time-tested ways are almost always the best.
Shifting Perspective
The last aspect of healthy aging is shifting our perspective. Perhaps this one should have been first on the list, but unfortunately the human brain is not so easy to convince of new perspectives. It must experience them first. This gets back to the quote, "It is easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting." By applying the principles of healthy aging, we can then hope to embody the spirit of healthy aging--the understanding that we are part of a giant circle of birth and death. No one part is more significant than another and if we stay focused on how to best live each moment, then there is no room for regret or longing.
Aging in Chinese Medicine
Chinese Medicine views the process of aging as a gradual (or rapid) loss of Kidney Essence. We are gifted by our parents with a certain, non-renewable amount of 'prenatal jing,' or Essence, that dwindles as we age. When we reach the end of that supply, we die. The rate at which it decreases is dependent on how healthily we live our lives. A good diet, adequate exercise and sleep, and limited amounts of nonproductive stress and trauma are all safeguards to the loss of jing. However, eventually it gets exhausted. The design of the human vessel is an iterative one. We are a social species that passes its genes and knowledge onto the next generation, so that it may continue to adapt and learn. The creation of children and the preservation of cultural memes is how the Essence lives on, even though the immediate vessel must die.
Conclusion
Aging is not a curse, but a blessing. We are the proud participants in a cycle that is as old as existence. Birth, death, rebirth. Age brings wisdom, and wisdom is a greater understanding of our place in the context of things. We must remember, that as long as our heart beats, there is hope for change and adaptation. This is why the people who live the longest and happiest lives are the ones who wake up each morning with a curiosity and zest for living.
As we age, we must maintain a daily attitude of gratitude for what we have, combined with a youthful fire for the continued pursuit of learning and improving. The answer to improving our lifespan doesn’t lie in a new procedure or miracle supplement. It lies in the realization that what we do today affects who we will be tomorrow.
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