Business
'blue zone'
Another factor for your
Ismael Cala
I have to admit that studies on longevity are of
great interest to me. Do you know the so-called
"blue zones"? These are the places in the world
where you can find the greatest number of people
over 100 years-old. They are - the island of Sardinia
(Italy), the Okinawa islands (Japan), an Adventist
community of Loma Linda (California, USA), Nicoya
(Costa Rica) and Ikaria (Greece).
Besides evaluating the characteristics of their
food and adopting a diet based on plants and
vegetables with a lot of colour and not much
white or red meat, the experts also found that
a greater respect was given to the elderly in
those places. The older you are, the more they
take you into account.
Another element in common is the value of
work as an activity which dignifies the human
being. In fact, in Japanese there is no word
equivalent to "retire". Instead, they love the
term "ikigai," which could be translated as "the
reason why you wake up every morning" or
your purpose.
Finally, the act of maintaining close relationships
with our loved ones, whether family or friends,
makes a difference in terms of longevity.
We are sociable people and, as such, we prefer
to spend time in groups. We can improve our
diet and work hard, but I want to emphasise
the importance of socialising and working as
a team.
Last year I wanted to completely change the
concept of the December holiday. Instead
of travelling in a small group, I considered
extending the adventure to other people, even
to people I didn’t know, but who had similar
interests and a hunger for knowledge.
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I always try to create travellers of conscience,
who want to discover new destinations and,
at the same time, share impressions and
experiences with others. Thus, I turned the
end of the year holiday into a joint adventure
to discover ancient Egypt via the Nile River.
Travelling with people means living more, it
creates a new universe of intention and co-
creation, always from the hand of mindfulness.
Whether in Egypt, Bhutan or anywhere else,
we can start the fourth factor of longevity.
Enjoying unknown places as a team, through
today's relationships which will last into the
future, it is an ideal combination to open the
mind and expand the spirit.
in Japanese there
is no word
equivalent to
"retire".
Travelling with
people means living
more
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