And Now For Something Completely Human
Good news, everybody! Well at age 65? You're likely to make it to 90. Well at 50? You're likely to make it to 95 - and beyond. We have gained an incredible gift of 'time enough' - but are we ready?
A big study published last year showed a massive gap between lifespan and 'healthspan' - the number of years of 'good enough' health we enjoy. In Australia that gap runs to more than twelve years - and it's nearly as bad in New Zealand. Who wants to spend the last dozen years of their very long lives dreading their decline?
Fortunately, we have all sorts of sensible, sensitive and simple ways to transform ourselves, our communities, and our culture to support healthspans that match our lifespans.
First: get ACTIVE and stay active. That's more than just getting off the lounge. It's about finding what moves us - body, heart and mind - and leaning into that. Activity keeps us all alive. It helps us to find the reason to get out of bed, and it helps our bodies, hearts and minds to stay flexible, pliable, and ready for whatever comes next.
Next, just CONNECT. We find it so easy as children to make friends. As we age we focus on our families, so our ability and desire to connect outside our closest circles begin to rust away. We should to positively seek out others - LIKE ALL OF YOU WONDERFUL FOLKS AT GARDEN STATES - and connect. Making friends keeps us young. We need a practice of connecting as much as we need a practice activity.
Finally, CONTRIBUTE. All those years: everything we've seen and done and learned along the way, all the lives we've touched and have been touched by us; all of that is within us so that we can share the best of that with others. That sharing is the real reason we're here now. We know what we know so we can help others - who haven't had as many trips around the block - with our own wisdom.
There are different ideas and different visions for what eldership looks like. They have one element in common: all of them ask that we be as well as we can for as long as we can to be as much help as we can to as many as we can. Healthspan isn't just about ourselves; it's about our communities. We live for ourselves and others.
How we can help ourselves lean into activity, connection and contribution? What have we learned about our bodies, hearts and minds? What have chemistry and psychology taught us about how we can invoke the best parts of our selves, tune into our hearts, and act from our authentic selves? There are answers to these questions - and some might surprise you.
We have the tools. We have the reason. Now we must change our minds, abandoning preconceptions of aging, and reimagine ourselves as powerful, vital elders: advising, tending and caring.
That's why what's coming next is something completely human.
Connect: www.markpesce.com
