Blue Zones

        I recently started watching a show on Netflix called “Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones,” which is a documentary series about longevity of life and the study of centenarians around the world.  It is fascinating to me that in the United States, on average, people do not live to be 100 years old. In fact, the average life span here is 77 years old; whereas, in other places around the world, there are concentrations of people that are living to the age of 100.  These areas are referred to as Blue Zones. The show focuses on these areas and discusses the factors involved in longevity.  Of course, diet and exercise come into play, but what I found interesting is that a major factor in living a long life is having community and close connection to others.  Okinawa, Japan is a place where they have a high concentration of centenarians.  The elderly there are greatly cared for and stay in community with the young people and with one another.  They regularly meet for meals and social gatherings and look out for each other.  In Hebrews chapter 10, the Bible says we should think about how we should encourage each other toward love and good deeds.  The author goes on to say we should not give up meeting together as a part of this encouragement. 

I am not trying to be Negative Nancy here, but doesn’t it seem like sometimes that we have given up on meeting together? I believe a huge reason for this is because social media causes us to believe we are connecting with others, so we tend to not spend much physical time together.  I am happy to know of several groups of people around my city that gather together regularly, such as the Fayetteville Running Club, for example.  Of course, we gather together as church attendees weekly, and some of us regularly meet in “small groups” where we connect on a deeper level with our church friends. 

It is too easy to be self-centered in this world and only focus on the life we are individually living.  It’s easy to neglect others outside of our own household and plan times to get together and connect with them.  Perhaps we are living shorter lives in the U.S. because of this lack of connection. The research is certainly pointing in this direction.  God wanted us to know this, as well, by having this letter to the Hebrew church included in the Bible. There are so many practical applications of the Bible that we should be paying attention to, and this is definitely one of them.  I am personally going to work on this because I want to live a long, happy life! One step that I am going to take today is to take a break from social media. I regularly take them, as I often feel the need to disconnect from Facebook and Instagram because of the fake social connection that it brings.  I want to actually connect with my friends and family.  If you are a close friend or family member reading this, let’s connect soon!

I love you all.