I have always had a fascination with people older than myself, and a yearning to learn from their “wisdom.”
Perhaps being an only child, and often surrounded by my parents’ friends and older relatives, made me realize that I could learn from listening and maybe bypass certain “mistakes,” by following their advice.

Here are three reasons why I believe we should listen to, and respect older people:

• You never know what snippet of information can make a difference in your own life.

• An older person with wisdom can often soothe your fears and worries about how you are handling issues in your own life.

• Older people often offer the same secrets. We all know we might benefit from following their advice, but don’t always listen.

After watching Secrets of Centenarians, you find some common threads.

Esther Tuttle now 100, is amazing. Listen to her beautiful clear voice. She says, “It’s partly genes, and also being conscious of your body.” Esther explains your body is your instrument, and stresses the importance of yoga, stretching and walking. Also, we need to eat and drink in moderation. Esther still drinks today and claims that, “Moderation is a wonderful thing.”

Mae Anderman 103, agrees that genes play a role, and that keeping your mind alert, and having family helps. She also says many people today are anxious and ambitious, and that people have changed and become more “brash, and much less friendly.” She states there’s no use in saying, “I should have or could have. That doesn’t matter.” Also the future will take care of itself. Live in the present.

Travilla Deming 100, says her secret to living long is, “Don’t emphasize anything that is evil or bad. Get rid of it or rise above it.”

The following New York Times article, claims that: Genes do play a role in longevity, although Esther Tuttle’s parents died at 42 and 50.

According to Dr. Nir Barzilai, a geneticist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, “Centenarians are 20 times as likely as the average person to have a long-lived relative.”

A Swedish study of identical twins separated at birth and reared apart concluded that only about 20 to 30 percent of longevity is genetically determined. Lifestyle seems to be the more dominant factor. If true, then this gives hope that we can live longer and healthier lives by taking care of ourselves.

I want to thank Marla Miller, founder of Marketing the Muse, for posting this on her Facebook page, which prompted my post.

Do you have any words of wisdom, or stories from an elderly person you’d like to share?