Over on MSN Money there was an article today by Liz Pulliam Weston about how ... "You will live to be 80." It appears that just as people don't like to really quantify what they eat or how they spend, they don't like to think about death (estate preparation) or retirement (how long it can last). Ms. Weston's article was specifically about financial planning for retirement, but as usual I take a topic and squeeze out a seed for my own little plot, here.
I guess I'm a little bit oddball (news to anyone??), because I've had, for a long time now, a very long-term view. My paternal grandmother lived into her late 80s and my maternal grandma is still alive at going-on-93. On both sides there are plenty of examples of long-lived women. There are no cancer trends, no heart disease, no diabetes. (Both my grandfathers died of cancer, but of types I'm not likely to get: lung and prostate.)
My grandmas both have set me cautionary examples, however. Both were/are inactive, overweight, relatively socially isolated, and practiced poor nutrition. Osteoporosis, memory loss/dementia, loss of mobility, and loss of independence were/are the result.
I would rather die at 75 in full possession of my faculties than live to 95 in a fog. Thus nearly every choice I make concerning my health is focused toward maximizing my mental and physical capacities for the long term.
I took up yoga at 28 primarily as a tool for fitness. It has grown into much more, and I am confirmed in my dedication every time I see a new article about an 80 or 90 or 100-year-old yogi who retains full mobility and mental function.
I am just at the midpoint of my probable lifespan. With at least thirty, and probably forty, years ahead of me in which I will retain nearly full function, I still feel free to explore new learning opportunities. Thus, the personal trainer certification and dance teacher training. At some point I would love to take a yoga teacher certification as well. All three disciplines will be both liberating and rejuvenating as I grow older. If I develop arthritis in my hands, or if we move away from our city, or if an office job is no longer attractive or available to me, I feel confident that I can continue to work as a trainer and teacher well into the last third, or even quarter, of my life.
If there is one maxim which all my reading (about general fitness, nutrition, exercise science, yoga, dancing, metabolism, etc) boils down to, it is: Use It or Lose It. Whether we speak of a healthy digestive tract, our libido, our reading or typing speed, our flexibility, our mental agility: all the evidence points to the absolute necessity of constant activity to retain function.
I guess a lot of people look at that and throw up their hands and say "what's the point!? it's too much work!" They would rather veg out on the couch and take it easy. Well, I like to do that too (as my DVR will attest) but the fact is that healthy living and the occasional imitation of a spud are not mutually exclusive. Everyone has the same number of hours in the day. There is ample evidence that taking time for yourself, for your health, is a good thing; that your family life and work life will almost invariably benefit.
I know that for every Saturday I spend parked in front of HGTV for two hours, I've probably just given up fifteen minutes or so of my future. Unless I then get up and do vigorous housework, or go for a walk, or practice dancing, or do a yoga session, or cook something virtuous.
So don't kid yourself. The lifespan calculators tell you how long you are likely to live. It's up to you how you choose to live that time.
Comments