Blue Zones are regions in the world where people live much longer than average and explored by Dan Buettner, author of “The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest”.

Five regions are identified – Sardinia, the islands of Okinawa in Japan, Lomá Linda in Californian, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica and Icaria in Greece. People identified in these regions somehow exhibit a fraction of the diseases that kill other people and generally live long healthy lives. Being a centenarian is no outlier in these communities.

So what everyone wants to know is – what’s their secret . . . What are these people doing that the average American who lives until 78 or British person who lives until 81 is missing?

Dan Buettner suggests it comes down to these nine characteristics:

​1. Moving: these people don’t necessarily go to the gym, but they live a life of constant activity. Gardening, house-keeping , walking rather than driving.

2. Purpose: Knowing why they wake up in the morning – creating a sense of meaning in their lives. Which reminds me of a quote from Winston Churchill: “It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.”

3. Less stress: Stress can have a serious effect on your brain – changing its structure and killing off cells. Depression, anxiety, chronic pain and decreased immune function can all be caused or exacerbated by stress. Blue zone communities have less stress – they take naps, pray or have happy hours.

4. Eating less: Blue zone people tend to eat less, recognise that 80% full is enough and have lighter meals in the evening. The internet is overloaded with articles on how eating a large meal at night can overload your digestive system. And that in turn contributes to not getting adequate rest through the night, thereby slowing your body physically and mentally the next day.

5. Plant based diets: Meat is eaten far less often by blue zone communities. Instead, a plant-based diet is more common – vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes. If you eat meat, the rule of thumb says the meat portion of your meal should be able to fit comfortably on the palm of your hand.

​6. A glass of wine: Moderate drinkers outlive non-drinkers in blue zone communities. One to two glasses a day and no binging.

7. Connection: All but five of the 263 centenarians interviewed by Dan Buettner’s team attend faith-based services – which faith doesn’t seem to matter. 

8. Putting families first: Elderly parents tend to live nearby or in the family home, divorce is less common and children are loved and nurtured.

9. Belonging: Blue zone communities are essentially groups of supporting people who live similar lifestyles. Shaping those around them – living by example.

All simple stuff that demonstrates that wealth doesn’t matter as much as connection, that over-eating and stress is killing us and that love for our family and having a purpose in life is core to our happiness and longevity – more than popping vitamins and pumping iron. Oh . .  and that there isn’t much wrong with a glass of wine or two! 

​I’m currently working for Tūhoe, one of New Zealand’s Maori iwi (tribe). Their ancestral home is Te Urewera in the eastern North Island, a place of magical natural beauty – from towering cliffs to fast flowing rivers and which includes the stunning Lake Waikaremoana. They are sometimes referred to as Nga Tamariki o te Kohu ("the children of the mist").

Their recent settlement with the Government included legislation which created legal personhood for Te Urewera. That sort of means that nobody owns the place, which now has all the rights of a legal person. Importantly for Tūhoe, the legislation enshrines the reconnection of Tūhoe people with Te Urewera. 

Tūhoe people are, in my view, born conservationists. They believe the land is their mother and have declared war on the beliefs of humans that land should be thought of as property to be owned. “You wouldn’t treat your mother that way” is a common expression when faced with littering tourists. Their strategy is not about managing land – but managing people, for the benefit of the land.

​Buddhists believe in the concept of samsara – an endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Buddha taught that all living beings have, at some stage, been our mother in the past. And if we regard all living beings in that context, it becomes easy to develop feelings of love and compassion for them. 

Compassion is a big thing for Buddhist people – the state of mind that wishes each being to be separated from suffering. Getting over our self-cherishing and learning to wholeheartedly cherish others is the basis of Gesh Kelsang Gyatso’s book “The New Eight Steps to Happiness”. 

The book postulates that everyone wants to be happy and nobody wants to suffer – but understanding what is the real cause of happiness and suffering can be difficult. Turning from an external view of the world (where for instance possessions and our home might bring us temporary joy) to an internal view is key. Turning our self-centred minds into positive minds of unconditional love and compassion for others is a Buddhist ideal of happiness.

The concept of everyone being formerly your mother is therefore an important one, as it helps us manage our feelings of negativity, resentment or dislike to those we don’t seem to get on with. It’s easy to be compassionate to those you like – but to love your enemies is an important step towards real happiness.