Live Long vs. Live Well

One of my favourite TV main men, Dr. Sanjay Cupta was on CNN last night. He spoke of the secret personality traits for living a long life, based on a recent study of centenarians. These sum up what I got from his talk:

- Strong, but flexible.
- Dominant but relaxed.
- Open-minded but suspicious.
- (sorry, I forgot one point -- something to do with not to control what cannot be controlled)

Interesting -- not all of these sound positive morally. In fact, each are a pair conflicting elements. I gave them some thoughts. And I couldn't help but conclude, once again, life is a constant balancing act between conflicting forces imposed upon us by the universe. A dynamic person, no matter what role s/he plays in life, handles conflicts with ease, sees the extremes as integral parts of an entity and possesses abilities to endure complexities. With powers charged through the balancing acts of life, s/he therefore lives longer.

I welcome these new insights about becoming good at living instead of becoming a good person to live. The idea of not having to do virtues is both inspiring and relaxing to me. There is hope for me and all of us. But there is no guarantee either. Even if you are the best juggler and hustler, you could drop dead one day in an accident. Or with all your self-imposed determination, you can fail in surviving some unavoidable and insurmountable forces imposed by the universe... On the second thought, I decided that I should shift my focus from living long to living well. Fortunately, as far as I can see, the secrets to live long apply to living well, completely.


Dr. Sanjay Cupta doesn't recommend this highly or charity work.