How to Live a Long and Healthy Life
In May…, I received a happy email from my dearest editor, for another article about my mother’s 5 rules for a long, happy and healthy life. Yes, she is recurrent cancer survivor…, lung in 2001 and both breast in 2018.
It was still right after my first one, so a little bit nervous…, I thought the second one needed to be better. I started something “ ordinally”: 1)anticancer foods, 2) control healthy weight, 3) get a good sleep, 4) be active…, 5) be social…, oh…, you may find the same, but maybe a better one from Google. No, it’s not what I have been building up for in the past five years or even more. It’s needed to be honest about what I have been learning as her daughter throughout my life.
My mom and late dad’s motto…, “ Complaining just leads to more complaint” (グチを言えばグチが入ってくる). Now, I am haritating this lesson, and I am trying.
I have never heard the words “Why did I get cancer?”; even in the middle of her worst symptoms, she said everyone was so nice to her. As a human being, she of course honestly expressed if you could see her favorite grandchild, who are in the US, once again, which indeed turn into her “ Ikigai” and it will be happening in December.
So…., I started renarrow …,
1. Back to Authentic Japanese meals… which are naturally anticancer
2. Faith and prayer
3. No complaints but gratitude
4. Daily Routine.. sleeping and house chores
5. Day by Day schedule to live another happy day
6. Community and family support
7. Be independent with accepting limitations ( help!!!)
8. Be a part of the medical team
9. Be pretty… she is alway smiling and keeps millor everywhere
10. Be needed and share happiness
11. So…., on…
Too much!!! I finally submitted my draft, after several back-and-forths with my dearest smart editor….; here is the article that has been published.
85-year-old Japanese mom’s 5 rules for a long, happy life: ‘Complaining only leads to more complaints.’
1. Eat foods that reduce inflammation.
When my mom was going through her cancer treatment, she emphasized traditional Japanese foods in her diet. This meant plenty of inflammation-fighting and immune system-boosting options in her kitchen (with some cheating, it’s OK from her nutritionist Michiko, as long as she eat gratitude!!!)
• Goji berries and cinnamon as sweeteners, and super anticancer propaty
• Seaweed, ginger, kudzu and green teas like matcha, anti inflammatory
• Seafood high in omega-3 like salmon and mackerel
• Miso (fermented soybeans), nukazuke (vegetables in fermented in rice bran) and umeboshi (Japanese pickled plum)… natural probiotics
She eliminated most processed and packaged foods, including meats and animal fats, oily and fried foods, sugary snacks, dairy and alcohol.
She still maintains this mindful diet today ( with something cheat :)
2. Find reason to laugh.
My mom always says, “Complaining only leads to more complaints, but gratitude and laughter lead to happiness.”
Even something as simple as watching a comedy show or reading a funny cartoon lifted my mom’s spirits and helped her get through tough times.
My favorite song..., composed by Michiko :)
" 幸せすぎる、幸せすぎる（リピート４回）幸せはどこに？幸せはここに、幸せはどこにでも待っていると” " I'm the happiest, I am so happy, I am too happy, I am so happy. Happiness is here. and there, waiting us at everywhere"
3. Have a dependable community.
During her rehabilitation period, being a contributing member of her community was crucial to my mom’s healing process.
She’s always been the independent type who likes doing things on her own. But as she’s gotten older, she has learned the importance of asking for help, even if it’s something as simple as slicing a watermelon.
The smallest interactions can be the foundation of an enduring connection.
4. Plan things to look forward to, and include your loved ones.
This can be anything from going to the grocery store to attending worship services to going to a concert with friends and family.
This year, my mom is most excited about visiting from her grandson after he graduates in December.
When you have something to look forward to or work towards, then you have an ikigai and purpose to keep you happy and motivated each day.
5. Connect with something bigger than yourself.
My mom takes a lot of comfort and joy in her spiritual life and traditions. Her day starts with lighting incense and chanting Buddhist and Shinto scripture. When she was with me, she even attended church worship in NJ, NY, Nara, and anywhere to thank God.
Three times a month, she goes to her local Shinto shrine for a ritual worship that has been maintained by Kazuga shrine(春日大社) for over 1,300 years.
She prays for her family’s health and safety, sees the priests, and has lunch with friends and members of the community. This relationship with something that’s larger than herself is incredibly healing, and she never takes it for granted.
I will add one more...., she always says she is in charge of her health..., so she has to have a responsibility to maintain her medicine, treatment, and lifestyle, not her doctor. On the other word, no complaining to anyone, but gratitide,