Blue Zone Living Meets Full Bloom Living
I recently watched the Netflix series Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.
A still from Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones. Netflix
The show documents five communities in the world where people live exceptionally long lives: Okinawa, Japan; mountain villages in Sardinia; Seventh-day Adventist community in Loma Linda, CA; Greek island of Ikaria; and Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula.
Then I hopped on the Blue Zones website and took their True Vitality Test.
Based on my responses, they recommended changes that could extend my life by 8.8 years:
More whole grains, fruits and greens
Less meat
More time with friends
Manage my depression
Manage my anger
Who could argue? But there was something that niggled at me. It was the idea of making these admittedly good lifestyle changes for the goal of living longer.
For a recovering control freak like me, I could easily make this an obsession. Using well-meaning Blue Zone lessons to grasp at some kind of power over my life.
I needed to investigate my motivation from a spiritual perspective. So I took to my meditation chair—a little nook I set up in the corner of my bedroom, looking out the window at the open sky and the maple tree that greets me every morning. It’s where I start my day in meditation, prayer, journaling, talking to my dad or different parts of myself, and taking in content from wisdom teachers.
This time, one of my favorite voices on the human experience, Krista Tippett, helped me. Krista is the host of one of my favorite podcasts, On Being, which I’ve been a fan of way back since it was called Speaking of Faith.
Her most recent TedTalk describes the wisdom of consciously orienting ourselves to what is good and generative. (She acknowledges that the term “generative” has been co-opted by ai, but we can take it back!)
We’re confronted with tragedy, suffering, war and hate on a daily basis. As we take this in, she says, we must then take an active role in seeing and participating in the learning, growth, evolution and breakthroughs that are happening as well.
“There are all kinds of people with all kinds of lives finding ways to be in service. … having an edifying effect on the people around them. Becoming healers and social creatives in so many forms.”
Seek them out and join in on living a generative life.
I’d love an extra 8.8 years, but for me longevity can’t be the goal. It’s the byproduct of living a healthy, generative life—full bloom living.
Here’s where I see Blue Zone living and Full Bloom Living aligning:
Movement
The world’s longest-lived people incorporate movement throughout their daily lives—subsistence gardening, manual housework, yard work, etc. How I interpret this lesson is to design a way of living that constantly creates a productive and valued communion with my body. Whether it’s cooking, cleaning, creating, building, walking, working out, singing, dancing, swimming, surfing. It’s body in motion. So that we can show up in our fullest capacity for our families and communities for many more decades.
Mindfulness
The ability to rest, be still, quiet and reflective is the counterbalance to motion. Ongoing, unaddressed stress can hurt your health and cause physical decline. The version of me that shows up mindlessly tired and stressed tends to be fearful and reactive. I don’t want that for myself or for those around me. Practicing mindfulness, spiritual introspection and stress regulation is the highest act of loving kindness to myself and others.
Mostly plant-based diet
What does eating plants have to do with living a full and generative life? Well, here are the known benefits: better mood, more energy, regulate your blood sugar so you’re more balanced, better digestion, better sleep, brain health, and the list goes on. Food is medicine. And I want to show up in the world at my healthiest. (Check out Food Revolution Network for plant-based recipes.)
Note: Blue Zone guidance also includes drinking a small amount of wine every day, but there are studies that show the health benefits of abstaining from alcohol as well. I don’t see the wisdom in implementing a practice that can also be detrimental. IMHO
Belonging & Connection
People in Blue Zones meet regularly with a spiritual community, spend time with friends and tribes, and have close multi-generational family ties. This is about intentionally creating belonging and connection for ourselves and others.
I chose a solo path in life, choosing not to marry and have children. I’m comfortable alone. I know that it’s on me to take intentional action, even when it’s uncomfortable, to create belonging and connection. Keeping myself in the middle of the herd with family, friends, spiritual groups and at work. This means continually opening myself to meaningful authentic interaction. Taking responsibility for and contributing to the well-being and unity of the group.
In order for an introvert like me to do all this, it takes all of the aforementioned practices to keep me in fit condition—body, mind and spirit—to engage openly with life.
Living With Purpose
This isn’t only about finding a particular passion, vocation or cause. It’s about living on purpose. With intention, and not on autopilot. This is what a Blue Zone lifestyle maps out. But purpose and intention starts over every morning. It can be as simply as starting each day with Oprah’s daily prayer, “What would you have me do? What would you have me say, and to whom?” Being open to hearing and being guided by love. Then letting gratitude wash in, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.”
That’s a good life, for however long it lasts.
As a first step, take the 3-minute Blue Zone vitality assessment, review the list of recommended lifestyle changes, choose one thing and incorporate one new habit into your life this week.
