Lessons from the blue zones

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Take care of yourself”

Our Bible verse for today: “Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.” Genesis 25:8 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “Lessons from the blue zones”

The other day a friend from church paid me a high compliment. She was encouraging me to take good care of myself and she said, “We want you to live to be 105, like Ms. Teresa, and to still be preaching too! Ms. Teresa is a lady in our church who is 105 and she is as sharp and spry as can be. She is in Sunday school and worship service almost every Sunday, smiling, participating in lively discussions, and generally being a blessing to everyone she encounters. She still lives independently in her own home and she only stopped driving about ten years ago.

In 2008 National Geographic magazine commissioned researcher Dan Buettner to travel to the top four “blue zones” in the world (Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; Loma Linda, California; and the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica). A blue zone is a region of the world where lots of people live healthy lives well into their 90s and 100s. The four zones mentioned have the highest concentration of healthy 90 and 100-year-olds anywhere in the world. Dan’s mission was to find out why. He ended up writing a fascinating book about it entitled “Blue Zones: Lessons for living longer from the people who’ve lived the longest.”

Dan discovered that there were multiple factors that seemed to contribute to longevity but there were a few that were common among all those who had lived long and well. The most common factors were faith, family, productivity, and moderation. In this devotional series we have already considered the impact that faith has on well-being. People with strong faith tend to be happier, better adjusted, and they experience less stress than those with no faith.

Healthy family relationships play a big role in overall well-being too, as does being productive (it is very important to live with a sense of meaning and purpose). Then there is moderation. Healthy people tend to exercise discipline in all areas of life including diet, exercise, sleep, number of hours spent working, and they avoid allowing others to place excessive demands on their time. Moderation in all things contributes to a more relaxed and less stressful life.

You may recall that we began this series by stressing the importance of maintaining a healthy balance in life between our physical, mental, and spiritual selves. God created us with a body, soul, and spirit and we must take care of all three parts of ourselves to be truly healthy. The better balance we maintain the healthier we will be and the longer we are likely to live.

Those are just a few lessons from the blue zones. I encourage you to read the book.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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