Secrets of a Long Life

The bold letters in the heading on the email in my inbox read, “Harvard research suggests meaningful relationships are a prescription for better emotional, mental, and physical health and possibly more critical to longevity than exercise or diet.”

So in addition to my three cups of coffee a day, there’s another road to longevity. (Of course, there’s the weekly 250 minutes of moderate exercise. Oh well, I smile to myself, I’ll definitely focus on the friendship route to well-being.)

“Aren’t you lonely?” someone once asked me. I’ve been widowed for many years, and I know the answer is definitely a no.

“No,” I replied. I may be alone a great deal of the day (all the better to write a book, my dear) but lonely…. No. Think about it. Sometimes, aren’t you lonely even in a crowded room if there’s no one you know or no one who appears to be interested in speaking to you? That’s real loneliness!