“Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday”, we usually say, wanting to wish the best to one of our own people. But there is the prospect of living over 100 and not in a bed of pain, but happy, conscious, with humor and a zest for life!!!
Life is moments and most of us would like to live “forever”.
Out there, several “expert” doctors, philosophers, life coaches, etc., have several tips and tricks for longevity and a happy life. Are they valid? Is there really a magic trick, nectar or medicine that can give us years?
Jean Calment, (Jeanne Louise Calment February 21, 1875 – August 4, 1997) was a French superannuated person, the longest living person in history, who lived 122 years and 164 days. At 117 she stopped smoking, not for health reasons, as we would imagine, but because she was finding it difficult to light it herself and did not want to have to constantly ask others to light it for her. Mrs. Calmed also used to drink wine, eat sweets and ride her bicycle until her old age!!!! In the Guinness Book of World Records, at the age of 120, she won the title of the world’s longest living person.
Who is Calmed?
Calmed married her second cousin Fernand Calmed in 1896 and they had a daughter Yvonne, who died in 1934. Her grandchild was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1963.
In 1965, with no descendants, Calmed rented her apartment to a lawyer, François Raffret, agreeing to pay her rent until her death. But Raffré died before her, in 1995, so his wife continued to pay the rent.
Calmed was not, as you understand, the classic grandmother we all know. At 85 she decided to take up fencing and by the age of 100 she was cycling.
In 1985, Calmed, willy-nilly, went into a nursing home, living alone until the age of 110. In 1988, during her first interview, she revealed to journalists that when the Eiffel Tower was built she was 14 years old and had met the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, a man who had not made the best impression on her, describing him as “badly dressed and unpleasant”. In 1995, the French documentary Beyond 120 Years with Jeanne Calment was released and in 1996, the retirement home where she lived released the CD Time’s Mistress.
Among other things, in her interviews, the cute grandmother mentioned the following quotes. Some of them would be good for us to reflect, to influence us and why not to change our temperament !!!! How did she imagine her future on her 120th birthday? “Very soon,” she said with a smile in response to a journalist who told her, “Madam, I hope to see you next year,” that, “Why not? You’re not that old, you’ll still be here!”.
Life tips – quotes – from the 122 old lady
“I never wear mascara, I often laugh to tears”
“I’m in love with wine.”
“All babies are beautiful.”
“I think I’m going to die laughing.”
“My good Lord has forgotten me.”
“I only have one wrinkle, and I’m sitting on it.”
“If you can’t change something, don’t worry about it.”
“Never lose your smile. That explains my longevity.”
“I don’t see well, I don’t hear well, I don’t feel well, but everything is fine.”
“I have a huge desire to live and a big appetite, especially for sweets.”
“My legs are iron, but to be honest, they’re starting to rust and creak a little bit.”
“I took pleasure whenever I could. I acted with a clear and ethical mind and without regret. I am very lucky.”
“Youth is a state of mind, it doesn’t depend on your body. In fact I’m still young, only that for the last 70 years I haven’t been showing my beauty.”
