How to Live to be 100

My family’s home village, Grotte, has its fair share of vibrant elderly people.  When I was 16 and visiting Grotte, my cousin would take me along with him to visit his maternal grandfather.  I am not sure exactly how old Nonno was, but I can say he was OLD.  He lived with his grown children who were already grandparents.  Nonno’s family members would help bundle him up -even though it was sizzling hot in Sicily- and help him get comfy on a chair set outside the door.  Neighbors would pass by and chat with Nonno throughout the afternoon.

My elders in Grotte have taught me what it takes to live a well-lived long life!  Some of my aunties in the photos below, and certainly my grandmother and her sisters,  have passed away and did not make it to 100 years of age, but they lived well into their 90’s and lived heartily, healthily, and happily.  This writing is a type of ode to my elders, both living and deceased, in Grotte, Sicily.

1.) Get out and SOCIALIZE!  As long as they are physically able to, the men of Grotte get up early, have a shower and shave (leaving enough stubble to look fashionable), and drink their espresso with a ton of sugar. Fueled with sugar and caffeine, they do their house chores like feed the chickens and the dogs, feed the caged canaries, pick a few figs and eat them straight off the tree, prop up the heavy tomato plants, pick a few beans, make some sausage, check on the drying peppers in the attic, crack some walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds, check the olives that are curing under a load of salt, prepare some firewood for the afternoon’s barbecue, listen to the radio and read the newspaper, and then  they get all spiffed up and head to the piazza on foot.  As they walk up and down hills and cobblestone streets, they greet everyone they see by name.  If they don’t know someone, they will stare and try to figure out who the person resembles.  Later they will congregate in the piazza, chatting, laughing, gossiping, sharing information, telling jokes, comparing market prices, talking politics, reminiscing about the old days, and bragging about their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.  Socializing is one way of stimulating the brain.

Men in the piazza in Grotte.

Yeah!  The folks in Grotte know how to kick social isolation out the door!  They dress up and look so elegant and respectful as they leave the house en route to visit family members and friends. When I visit my aunties, they have a stream of visitors coming by steadily throughout the day.

My Aunt Tanina just leaving after a daily visit with her sister, my Aunt Rosa.

2) EXERCISE DAILY!  Ditch the car, put on some good walking shoes, and walk whenever you can.  Stay fit.  Walk hills as my aunties do in Grotte.  Hearts stay strong and muscle tone stays firm.  Remember:  what’s good for the heart is good for the brain!  Staying active keeps your mind sharp.  Below, my aunty climbed La Pietra in Comitini, near Grotte, to show me the prehistorically inhabited caves in this rock outcropping that later became a Byzantine fortress.  This is not an easy climb, but my aunty, in her late 70’s in this photo, did the climb with ease.

Zia Tanina climbing the steep rocks to show me the local caves.

3) Laugh and Smile!  Focus on what you like to do.  Do what makes you happy and be with people who make you feel happy.  Laughter lowers stress levels and smiles produce endorphins.

Photo by John Urbano of my aunties, Zia Tanina and Zia Maria.

4) Cook with passion (research shows that cooking complicated meals is really great for the brain)  and Eat with Gusto!  Enjoy your meal and eat well.  Find a way of eating that works for you.  In her 90’s, my Zia Maria is a queen at the table.  It is pure joy to watch her cook and even more delightful to watch her enjoy a meal!  A typical Sicilian diet consists of durum wheat products such as bread and pasta, sauces made of tomatoes, onions, garlic, basil, oregano, nuts such as walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, cheese made from sheep milk, seafood and meats, and many  vegetables including lots of raw and cooked leafy greens, bitter greens such as radicchio, arugula, and endive,  squashes,  nightshade plants such as eggplant,  olives, olive oil, peppers, eggs, a large variety of beans and pulses such as lentils, and cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower,  fruits of every kind imaginable and wine. Healthy, fresh organic unprocessed foods ripened in the Sicilian sun are the best!

Cook with Passion and Eat with Gusto!

5) Keep working!  Keep active.  Volunteer. Give back. Have a purpose in life.  The more active you are throughout the day, the better you will sleep at night.  And a good night’s sleep is essential to brain and body health.  In the photo below, my maternal grandmother is pictured with all of her sisters harvesting grapes.  Harvesting grapes is one of the toughest jobs and they did it year after year, for well over 85 years.  My grandmother and her sisters all lived well into their late 80’s and 90’s.

My grandmother and her sisters working the Grape Harvest.

My 85 year old uncle hauling a heavy bag filled with walnuts that we just picked!

6) Love! Give love, receive love, platonic love, romantic love, make love, be loving, touch someone every day (physically or emotionally touch someone every single day).  Hold a baby.  Hold someone’s hand.  Give a hug.  Let yourself be hugged.  Pet a dog or a cat.  We are human beings and we thrive on love and touch.

Holding my aunty’s lovely 93 year-old hand.

7) Live in the present.  Practice mindfulness.  Have a spiritual practice. Be respectful of all living beings. Notice every precious moment. This is the way of life of my elders living in Grotte.  My aunties and their elderly neighbors don’t know it, but they are true yogis!!  They show us the way to live a full rich life.  A true yogi is fully integrated in the now and lives a life of awareness and embraces the abundance that is all around.

Living life in Grotte. ( My lovely Zia Rosa in blue dress.)