Longevity and Curiosity

Message from Beth Cole and her report on Longevity and Curiosity

A group of Centenarians recently had a gathering in Tucson , Arizona . More than 40 people between the ages of 100 and 104 met to discuss their lives. Also on hand were physicians, psychologists, social workers and those who work with the aging. In addition to having quite a good time, they discussed longevity. While many of the seniors and the professionals thought that connection to other individuals may have been the most important contributory factor to the well being of these individuals, several who had been single for most or all of their lives proved that that might not be as singularly important as it was initially thought. What became profoundly apparent in each and every one of those who reached beyond the 100 year mark was that each was found to be curious.

I hope you will find this as interesting as I did. Do you wonder? Are you curious? If not, how can wonderment and curiosity be increased?

These individuals were born between 1905 and 1909 – can we even imagine how much the world has changed during their lifetimes? Asked if they thought they would see so many changes, most answered that they hadn’t expected to live any where near as long as they did. They mentioned that they rarely spent much time thinking about their pasts because they lived very much in the moment. (How is that for good advice?)

I keep going back in my mind to the fact that the professionals found them all curious. Traditionally we think of children as curious. It’s clear that a certain population of adults is also higher on the curiosity scale than most.

And, isn’t it wonderful that we can all become “curiouser” and “curiouser.” It’s not only so that we can maybe live longer but I’ll bet our lives would be better if we were. Let’s go for it!


Beth S. Cole
520-572-4986 (P)
240-687-1717 (C)
12740 No. Owl Head Canyon Road
Marana, AZ 85658
http://www.beth-cole.com
http://www.agingwellcoach.com/