A Medical Mystery of the Best Kind: Major Diseases Are In Decline (nytimes.com)

This man spotted on a corner in Newport Beach CA.

Something strange is going on in medicine.

 Major diseases, like colon cancer, dementia and heart disease, are waning in wealthy countries, and improved diagnosis and treatment cannot fully explain it...it looks as if people in the United States and some other wealthy countries are, unexpectedly, starting to beat back the diseases of aging.

 The leading killers are still the leading killers -- cancer, heart disease, stroke -- but they are occurring later in life, and people in general are living longer in good health. 
 
The Times cites one researcher's pet theory" that the cellular process of aging itself may be gradually changing in humans' favor.

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 Research studies on aging well have long focused on the “successful agers”; those who get older with little accompanying disease or disability. 

While they are important to study and understand, disappointingly for most of us, that elite group is comprised of fewer than 5% of older adults.

1. Practice self-acceptance.
2. Continue to try new things (old dogs can learn new tricks )
3. Engage with life and other people.
4. Work on being resilient, rather than ruminating about traumatic events, move on.
5. Pay attention to the positive, and spend less time on the negative.  Along those lines, seek out situations that are enriching.  And if there are situations or people that you can reliably predict will be negative (aka “soul-sucking”), avoid them as much as you can.

Is this easy?

Not always.

While some people effortlessly execute these positive aging strategies, it is harder for others.

 Many of us excessively ruminate about the past (“reviewing”) and worry about the future (“previewing”).

 “I am now more aware of activities that are nourishing versus depleting…I have been more careful not to engage in depleting relationships.”

Isaiah 40:31King James Version (KJV)

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

A true art, waiting.

Few can master it in today's world. 

Few even understand what is being  said here.

When was the last time you left the world of people and went out into the desert places and waited upon the Lord with no distractions around you?

Be it for a day or even one hour, you will find renewed strength and energy.

Take time out to wait upon the Lord.

He loves you.