Sunday, March 31, 2013

The 5 pillars of successful aging

Research from the McArthur Foundation has found that there are 5 pillars of healthy aging: physical, mental, social, spiritual, and stewardship. This is really not revolutionary, but rather wisdom handed down about a hundred years ago or so by William Danforth, the founder of the Ralston Purina company and explained extensively in his book I Dare You. If you consider "stewardship" to be a part of your social and spiritual life, like many of us do, then this research is not new nor very interesting, it is simply confirmatory. Living what Danforth calls a "four square life" not only increases the years of life, but the life in our years. It's time to get back to basics.