Why do I mention this article from National Geographic? Simply because aside from eating a sensible diet and living stress free, every member of the Okinawan society felt a sense of purpose in life within their community and it would explain their longevity rate. I was reading up on this feeling of disconnectedness we all feel at some point in our lives. Most of us tend to fill the void by keeping busy with work, friends and family but does it really mend the wounds or does it simply push the issue aside? Maybe it’s the age (forty being right around the corner!) but a few close friends and I have been feeling this dissociation with the world around us. For some “doctorates”, the easiest label to this type of feeling is depression. And yes I squint at the word depression, not because it doesn’t exist but because it is the easiest and most obvious diagnosis doctors like to call it these days. There is a major issue with all of us; loneliness. It is heavy to bear but the disconnecting feeling to the world goes beyond loneliness: it is aloneness. The question is why do we feel so disconnected? Why do we feel so out of touch with the realities that surround us? How has that feeling come about? I was bored with my friends and family (not because they weren’t interesting but simply because I wasn’t interested anymore…). I felt restless. I was looking for meaning and worthiness around me and couldn’t seem to find it. I was looking to connect with the world around me (friends and lovers) but could only connect with my students and my nieces. And so I wondered what it was all about. And then it dawned on me… I wasn’t trying to connect to the people around me; I was unconsciously trying to reconnect with my true self. I’ve always felt connected when I was in a classroom with my students. I felt (and still feel) a sense of purpose as an educator / teacher. The same goes when I am with my nieces. I feel a sense of purpose with them. But take those two contexts away and I loose sight of my own personal sense of purpose in life. I am barely learning to be true to myself. Hopefully it will allow me to share more of me with friends and future relationships. For those close to me, thank you for being who you are and bearing with me – regardless of the walls I have built around me!
Ally L.
The Secrets to Longevity - by Dan Beuttner
Publication: National Geographic
http://www.okinawa-diet.com/news/20051101_ng.html