Reward or Punishment?

Your physical body is the brick and mortar of the temple housing your consciousness. Without it you are no more, at least, no more in the physical reality. Yet, according to expert nutritionists we limit our lifespan by an act of our will, or at least, of our stomach.

According to the United Nations estimates for years 2005-2010, the average life expectancy at birth in the US is 78.2. I suppose most peoples’ bodies are too heavy a burden to carry around any longer. Or, maybe, they are just fed up with the Washington shenanigans.

It doesn’t have to be that bad.

In Hunza, in central Asia, it is not unusual for elderly persons to reach the venerable age of 130. It has even been reported that a significant number have survived to the incredible age of 145!  

The Abkhazians in southern Russia “The year 1974 saw celebrations for the 140th birthday of a lady in that region…  She was 85 when she joined a collective farm; at 104 she travelled to Moscow for the USSR's first agricultural exhibition; at 128 she was still working. Her speed and skill made her a model for the other workers.

So much for Russian table d’hôte?

There is more.

Vilcabambans in Andes of South America have their own story to tell. The Vilcabamba Legend has it that this quirky town is home to some of the oldest people on earth. (Although they are said to life only into their one-hundredth year and longer)

Elsewhere, Blue Zones reports about the Okinawans in Japan that: “Their purpose-imbued lives gives them clear roles of responsibility and feelings of being needed well into their 100s.”

So much for the good stuff. At least good until we choose Immortality.

The very same United Nations report rates some 18 countries below a life expectations of 50 years. The CIA World Factbook rate them slightly lower in their 2011 estimate. Perhaps the CIA assists those countries in lowering their average, or perhaps their figures vary by accident only. The worst among these are Zambia, Angola and Swaziland where a child born today can hardly expect to reach 40. Few do.

We, in North America, have a choice. Our bodies have evolved over millions of years from components found in plants; in fruits and vegetables. We became omnivores, and recently mostly carnivores, only fairly recently. We like to eat what we kill, to assert our superiority over the animal kingdom. Sadly, we pay with our lives. A daily relaxation exercise followed by a healthy diet would add, some 20 to 30 years to our average lifespan. Perhaps more.

Not everyone has a choice—we do. It is up to us.

Unless, of course, unless we deem that long life is a not a reward but a punishment for the way we conducted ourselves on Earth. Some say that only the good die young. If so, then North America is, or soon will be, right up there among the leaders in Africa.