BEING ALIVE AS A LIFELONG STRATEGY

Yesterday afternoon, as part of my monthly visit to the Mandai Columbarium to change fresh flowers at the niche for my beloved first wife, Catherine, I popped into Ang Mo Kio to visit my fourth sister-in-law, together with my wife, Amay.

My fourth sister-in-law, now close to the seventies, became a widow after my fourth elder brother had passed away a few months ago. Currently, she stays with her 8-year old grandson, whose father is based in Kuala Lumpur.

As usual, all of us adjourned to the neighbourhood coffee shop for tea, as well as a large plate of Hokkien mee noodles to share.

During the course of conversation, among other mundane stuff, I have shared with her the 7 important factors to be considered of "being alive", drawing from the research findings of people who lead long, rich & happy lives, which she has dutifully jotted down in a notebook. She is a biologist by training.

To recap, here they are:

1) Keeping your mind intellectually alive, by learning new things, finding new ways to do old things, etc.;

2) Keeping your body physically active, e.g. exercise, walking in the neighbourhood, doing chores at home, window shopping;

3) Keeping your heart emotionally engaged, e.g. be empathetic towards self as well as others, maintaining healthy relationships with loved ones, friends, colleagues, associates, neighbours, & others;

4) Keeping your sleep & rest in check i.e. making sure you have adequate sleep & rest everyday; this is in fact one good way to ensure that you have a resourceful mind state during waking hours;

5) Keeping your socialisation process active, by keeping in close touch with old friends, & if possible, making new friends; in fact, regular social conversations among good friends help to keep your brain cells firing!;

6) Keeping to a well balanced diet by eating in moderation;

7) Keeping your soul spiritually enriched, by living good as well as doing good e.g. believing in the Great Spirit, helping the needy or less fortunate, donating to charity, practising volunteering, involving in community work, etc;