I am not trying to live longer

As of last month, I have retired 13 years already. Since I stopped working, I have been trying to stay active and with a lot of time in hand, I try to do quite a few things that I like.

People said to me … “wah, you so active physically and staying healthy … you will live longer”.

Now, let me make it clear ... I do things that can make me LIVE BETTER not make me live longer.

There is a saying in Chinese ... 活得好不要活得老 … translated it simply means “live better, not longer”. Not everyone can agree to this but for me, I can accept this idea.

You see … I picked up trekking years ago. I trek into the forest simply because I like to bask in the beautiful nature. I like the jungle atmosphere, the sound, the smell, the penetrating sunrays, the flora and fauna, the cool rushing rivers, the splashes of the waterfalls and sightings of beautiful animals and creatures in the forest.

To some, trekking is an exercise … yes, trekking does give me a good exercise but will it make me live longer?

NO … I don’t think so. I don’t feel that I am going to live longer when I trek. But I certainly feel that I am living better embracing the beautiful nature as much as possible.

I go the gymnasium … no, I am not trying to be like Schwarzenegger … I cannot be and I don’t want to be. At my age, the muscles and tendons tend to get lethargic easily. To keep the muscles and tendons from getting fatigue … need to grease and stretch them from time to time.

And I love food … hey, who can resist good food? Someone told me once that calories are meant to be burnt, not keep … so I go burn the calories. I don’t want to carry the extra weight on my loose joints and already rusty structure. The fatty layers have to go … some sweats and workouts at the gym will do just that.

Will that make me live longer? NO … highly unlikely. But I feel better when the old muscles and tendons can still work painlessly … I feel better with less weight hanging on my body structure ... hence, I live better.

I took up taichi lessons and it took me a year to learn the beginner’s “short form” of the Huang style taichi and maybe another year to complete the “long form”.

Now, will learning taichi make me live longer?

NO ... if people tell you that … don’t believe it. See, from the various taichi principles, I learned about proper lifting, standing, balancing, sitting, correcting my postures and how not to put unnecessary weights on the various joints. With this, I can avoid or minimize the damages on my aged structure … I live better with less pain and less discomfort.

Like I said … I try to do things that I like … some are physical, some are mental, some maybe emotional and sometimes even whimsical. Though I don’t do all them very well, I do it because I can and I like to … Jack of all trades, master of none, they said.

At this point of time, I just want to live actively and effectively with less pain, aches and discomforts. I want to live peacefully and safely with fewer risks, damages and injuries and I want to live happily and joyfully without hassles, stress and worries.

Really, I am not trying to live longer … I am just trying to live better.