Don't Bring Me No Rocking Chair

 "When my bones are stiff and aching
 and my feet won't climb the stair,
 I will only ask one favor:
Don't bring me no rocking chair."    -On Aging, By Maya Angelou

     In talking to people I know who have surpassed the age of 80 the predominant theme to longevity has been staying active, both physically and mentally. Having the ability to continue on a forward path rather than living in the past has been a key in maintaining activity. According to a 96-yo woman I recently interviewed, aging is a natural process that will happen whether you want it to or not (if we are lucky.) She said by staying on the go "the years flowed into one another and I floated into old age." Four weeks ago she won 3rd prize in a talent contest for performing the Argentinian Tango with an instructor more than 30 years her junior. She did acknowledge it as a "modified tango" because her legs don't kick that high anymore.
     In a 2011 interview on AARP's "Inside E Street", Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens spoke about longevity and retirement. He tried to make his decision to leave the Supreme Court based on what he believed to be an ability to record decisions with clarity and  still make valuable contributions. He retired in 2010 at the age of 90, but thinks he may have "jumped the gun" with his departure.http://www.aarp.org/health/longevity/info-07-2011/video-john-paul-stevens-conversation-on-longevity.html
                         

     In the longest running study of its kind, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has followed the lives of more than 500 men since 1937; approximately half were students at the university, the other half men from the Boston area.  Dr. George Vaillant, a psychology professor at Harvard Medical School, has been its main custodian since the 1960s. In an article in The Atlantic Magazine he identified seven major factors that predict healthy aging. They are: coping mechanisms, education, stable marriage, not smoking, not abusing alcohol, exercise and weight management. According to his research, men who exhibited 5 or more of those traits at age 50 were likely to live to 80 as "happy-well" individuals, while those who had 3 or fewer were 3x more likely to perish before 80 and none of those who lived to 80 were deemed to be "happy-well". http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/06/what-makes-us-happy/7439/

     As a result of the information above, I believe that looking forward in positive manner, challenging yourself mentally and physically and surrounding yourself with people you love are the main ingredients to aging well.