If you were to ask us what one of the most powerful anti-aging activities is, our answer would be: The pursuit of meaning.
Why?
Because the closer we get to the reality of how precious and mysterious our days are, the more motivated we are to want to live… longer and healthier. And so, as one example from 2021, when we’re asked the question: “Why do you host full moon gong baths at Hanya House?”
The answer is:
Because it’s a time that we come together thoughtfully. In the stillness, the community, the sound, and the ceremony we’re reminded that the pursuit of meaning in this short life is the most age-defying act there is.
In 2022, if you haven’t already, start thinking about mortality. Not in a morbid way, but in a way that makes you want to squeeze every last drop of experience out of this crazy little thing we call “life”. Because although life is relatively little (in the universal scheme of things), we can choose to make it immensely bigger.
We can be amazed by the full moon. We can be still… truly still. We can bathe in the sounds of a gong (why not?). We can sit in a circle and share something vulnerable. We can jump out of a plane. We can challenge ourselves to 30 or 60 or 365 days of movement (Ryan did it. So can you!). We can experience our first cold plunge. Read poetry. Write our own poems. And of course, we can say no to sugar, a rebellion that’s long overdue.
If you’re ready to choose more health, there may also be blood tests, medicines, biotech interventions or treatments. But the New You begins with questioning life. Questioning how you live. Questioning how you want to live. What you want to experience, discover, uncover and share.
Pursue more meaning (in whatever way you want) and the rest – in our experience – is very likely to follow.
Choose a New You this year. And every year.
Stay good,
Dr. Rav James and Ryan James
PS – Did we mention that our word for 2022 is “healthspan”? Defined not as the number of years you have, but as the number of healthy years you have. Where do you see yourself in 20 years? How do you look? How do you feel? How are you experiencing the pursuit of meaning? Just something to start thinking about.
