Saturday, May 13, 2023

Quiet Victory LiDoña Wagner Watercolor pens

 6 Secrets of Living Fully and Long by 102-year-old Dr. Gladys McCarey

  1. Know your purpose. And if you don’t know it, seek it. “We have to always keep reaching for our sense of purpose, our unique contribution to the world around us that brings us joy, meaning, and what I call ‘the juice,’” she says.
  2. Be fluid. “Life is always moving, and we have to be sure to focus on the ways we’re moving with it,” she says.
  3. Love deeply. That old saying that love makes the world go round? According to Dr. McGarey, there’s truth in it. “It’s crucial to remember that love is life, and that putting our attention on love brings us health and well-being,” she says.
  4. Build community. At the end of the day, the world is so much bigger than ourselves. “We can’t forget the role that community plays in amplifying our life force,” Dr. McGarey says.
  5. There are always lessons to be learned. Some people will say that once they reach a certain age, they’re set in their ways, or there’s nothing left to learn. Dr. McGarey disagrees. “Everything that happens in our life is here to teach us something, to show us the way forward,” she says.
  6. Prioritize people, places, and things that make you feel your best. “When we invest our energy in the things that give us energy back,” says Dr. McGarey, “life force courses through us, quite literally keeping us alive.”

3 comments:

Terry Bergdall said...

Thank you. LiDona, for passing on the wisdom shared with you by Leah. These six points seem so obviously true in print but it takes discipline and commitment to actually live by them. We often become separated from our potential. Good thing there's always a second chance!

Anonymous said...

Being fluid is where I am. My biggest challenge is to maintain a meaningful sense of purpose. Sarah

Ann said...

Thanks, LiDona and Leah, for these words of wisdom from Dr. Gladys McCarey. What a treat to be introduced to this wise and beautiful woman. I looked up more from her: https://fortune.com/well/2023/04/08/aging-longevity-tips-102-year-old-gladys-mcgarey/ and was delighted to find additional wisdom with riffs on what you've forwarded, LiDona. It seems to me that all six of her points are important and linked to each other. Right now, I find myself most focused on building and enjoying community. In the Fortune article, she adds another bit of advice to "pay attention to your dreams." That would be a new one for me.