Healthy Aging Series Season 10 Episode 14

Your Brain on Alcohol | Healthy Aging Series: S10 E14

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I have read “Lonesome Dove,” by Larry McMurtry, at least five times. In the opening scene, Gus McCray saunters out to the well house to fetch his jug of Tennessee Whiskey. It’s been a long hot day in south Texas. The sun is setting, and he sits on the porch, takes a couple of long gulps from his jug, getting, as he described it, a little misty. That was his daily ritual.

I love that scene. I love the character that McMurtry created. He’s an aging man, enjoying his life and his daily drink in the evening. I confess that I like that evening, misty feeling that I get from a dinner cocktail, pint of beer, or a glass of wine. 

Things changed about five or six years ago when I started wearing a Fitbit that tracks my sleep. I started noticing that my heart rate did not drop as much or as quickly when I had even one drink, regardless of the time of day. It really didn’t go up; it just took a good part of the night to drop down to the low 50s. Eating sugar before retiring also delayed my heart rate from dropping. 

I’m going to spend some time later in this season on the topic of “Your Brain on Sleep,” so save your sleep-questions for later. Of course, the real question is this: Is this effect on my heart rate a problem? I read an article by a cardiologist (New York Times), and they suggested that it wasn’t a problem, but it kind of makes you wonder, as Squirrely Dan from Letterkenny suggested.

Alcohol is Poison

And then there was the Huberman Lab Podcast that I was listening to a couple of years ago where Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neurologist, called alcohol a poison. Yes, he said, if you drink chronically, you will experience neurodegeneration or loss of white and gray matter. Therefore, you should not drink alcohol at all. Alcohol is evil. There is no option other than complete abstinence. Amen.

Here’s a confounding question: Regardless of what you do, or don’t do, eat, or don’t eat, drink or don’t drink, you will lose white and gray matter as you age. The answer is yes. Dr. Huberman isn’t the only medical or mental health professional advising absence, and there are lots of studies,  studies highlighting the deleterious effect of drinking alcohol, especially as we age. 

But there are voices out there that advocate mild to moderate drinking, suggesting that it lowers the risk of everything from stroke to Alzheimer’s Dementia, and that drinking wine is associated with a longer life. Consider the Mediterranean Diet that is touted by many, many, many health professionals that allows for two glasses of red wine daily. And there are several longitudinal studies that suggest drinking alcohol, within reason, is good for you. I’ve read all of the studies or at least most of them. Here are my takeaways:

First, heavy, chronic drinking, is detrimental to your health and mental health. The National Institute of Health advises that if you drink daily, you can have one or two drinks daily. That’s 14 drinks per week.  If you drink less than daily, you can have three drinks, with the caveat that you consume those drinks on a one-drink-per-hour-basis. Still, the 14 drinks per weeks is still in effect.

I don’t want to get lost in the details here, I just want to find common ground! Chronic, heavy drinking is not good for you. Can we all agree on that?

Second, if you are a light to moderate drinker, diet, exercise, and sleep, will have a greater impact on your life than whether or not you drink and by that I mean light to moderate drinking. This also applies to your brain health. Exercising your brain will affect your brain health more positively than the negative effects of alcohol. There are three variables to consider when drinking. 

One, heavy drinkers are more likely to be smokers, which will likely increase mortality. 

Two, wine drinkers are more likely to be more educated, more health conscious, and less obese, which means less diabetes, which means a decrease in risk of early mortality. I suspect that those that have been lifetime abstainers or former drinkers are more health conscious, which again skews the data toward decrease risk of mortality. Dr. Peter Attia was interviewed about his book on healthy aging, “Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity,” and was asked if there was one thing that he would want people to take away from his book, what would it be? His answer: exercise.

Third, there are social benefits to light and moderate drinking. Alcohol isn’t just a social lubricant, but it is also a social adhesive for many aging people. Social isolation can contribute to a decrease in quality of life and maybe sharing a glass of wine with family and friends can serve as a buffer to that isolation.

My Break Up With Alcohol

I made the decision to break up with alcohol on February 27, 2024, six months ago. I based that decision, not on the health issues, whether it was poison or not, or on longevity. Well, maybe my health issues played a small role. So, why did I stop drinking?

First, a book that had a big impact on my use of alcohol was, “This Naked Mind,” by Annie Grace. Her book got me to think about my drinking and, in those very honest moments, I decided that I didn’t enjoy drinking. I enjoyed the taste and those initial moments following my first drink, but I did not, did not, enjoy the physical effects that followed 20 or 30 minutes following that first drink. Honestly, I felt like crap. So, I decided to stop drinking.

Second, I realized that I couldn’t do the things that I enjoyed doing if I had a drink in the evening. I couldn’t focus on reading and writing. I just wanted to go to bed. Reading and writing are important to me, so I decided to stop drinking.

Third, prior to my decision to stop drinking, I attempted to manage my use of alcohol. Ask anyone who knows me. All I ever talked about was managing my alcohol use. I would have a plan, and then the plan would go amuck. I would tell myself that I would only drink 3 or 4 times a week, and then drink every day. 

Part of my frustration was my inability to control something in my life, and that something was alcohol. 

So, I decided to stop drinking. Believe it or not, it has been easier to not drink then it was to manage or control my alcohol use.

Intentional drinking

Considering what I’ve just shared, how should you drink? Is alcohol poison?

When we label alcohol as a poison, we make no progress in helping people drink responsibly and intentionally.

If you’re going to drink intentionally…

First, make the decision to drink within the guidelines of the National Institute of Health:  (Men) 2 drinks if you drink daily, 3 drinks if less than daily. (Women)  1 drink daily, 2 drinks if less than daily. (For men and women) 1 drink per hour. 

Second, if you’re going to drink, exercise 150 minutes a week, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, get 7-8 hours of sleep, and socialize with family and friends.

Third, do I need to mention, if you’re going to drink, don’t smoke cigarettes.

I’m writing this while flying to Denver to visit family. I am wearing my Air Buds with noise reduction. I love them. I hear only the music from my iPhone, mostly. If you’re going to drink intentionally, you need to use  some form of noise reduction and silence the voices that are out there pontificating on the evils of alcohol, or the miraculous benefits of alcohol, and simply live, and enjoy life, and be a little bit like my hero, Gus McCray, who had a healthy routine of getting a little misty as the sun set on Lonesome Dove.

TO READ MORE ENTRIES IN THE HEALTHY AGING SERIES, CLICK HERE.

Healthy Aging Series Season 10 Episode 13

Reflecting on, “Gentle on my Mind: In Sickness and in Health with Glen Campbell,” by Kim Campbell | Healthy Aging Series: S10 E13

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Healthy Aging Series Season 10 Episode 13, True North

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was the Canary Fairy. The proof is the picture. I was a senior at Boonville High School, and it was a skit called “The Tale of the Magic Weenie.“ I loved it! So much fun! Someone once said that life is a stage and we are just actors… stop, I know who wrote that :-). I was acting then and now I guess I am acting on life’s stage. 

The Third Act

I was drawn to a TED talk by Jane Fonda on aging. It was called “The Third Act,” referring to the last third of our lives. She described it as a time of pulling loose ends together. The Third Act is a time of discovering how you became who you are. It’s a time of inner exploration, a time of growth, but, unfortunately, it’s not for some. I read Kim Campbell‘s story of her husband, Glen Campbell. It’s a story in three acts. Glen Campbell died from the effects of Alzheimer’s Dementia. Dementia took away most of his third act. He was still a character performing, but without a script, without memory, and without a hint of who he was.

The First Act

Glenn Campbell’s first act was full of chaos, lots of fame, and fortune. He sold 50 million albums.
He performed with Fleetwood Mac, Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Waylon Jennings. He was a familiar face at the White House. He spent most of this act abusing alcohol. Kim writes, “For three days Glen had been drinking around the clock. On the fourth day I woke at 8 PM. Glen was still passed out cold. I put on my pink robe, tied my belt around my belly, six months large with child, and made my way to the kitchen to find something to eat. I walked a careful path around a food-and-obstacle-course of empty booze, bottles, wine bottles, dirty dishes, and empty pizza boxes. Despite the carnage in the kitchen, the morning felt quiet and calm in contrast to the wild night that had proceeded it.”

About another incident she writes, “One night I saw that Glen stumbled into the bathroom naked. I pretended to be asleep. I did this often because I feared that if he knew I was awake, he would begin to rant and keep me up all night. When he did not return, I got up and checked on him only to find him passed out on the cold tile floor. When I saw him lying there, a story he told me about Willie Nelson’s first wife passed through my mind. Martha was so sick of Willie passing out drunk every night that she tied him up in bed sheets and beat the hell out of him with a broom handle.  As tempting as that sounded at the time, I followed what I had learned which was rather than waking Glen up and maneuvering him into bed or putting a pillow under his head and a blanket over him, I left him lying in all his indignity.  He came to bed, shivering cold, and hungover.”
Of course, there were wonderful moments. The birth of his children. Wonderful friendships. His faith experiences. But it was also a time of instability and unpredictability. That was Act One.

Act Two

Kim Campbell describes Act Two as Campbellot.
Really, it was Glen who referred to himself as the king of his little kingdom, he called Campbellot. In Act Two, he walked away from alcohol and drugs. It was the late 1980s.
“Writers wiser than me,” she writes, “have said most stories naturally breakdown into three acts. If that’s the case, I see Glen’s embrace of sobriety as a happy conclusion of the first phase of our life together. The second phase, a gloriously happy one, is about maturation. As we grew in our faith and our love for each other, we finally began to bear the fruit of the spirit. We matured as a couple and as children of God.”

Later she writes, “Winters were in Phoenix, summers in Sedona, the children growing healthy and strong, tour dates everywhere from Seattle to Sydney. Life was serene. Our faith deepened and our spiritual studies intensified.”

The Third Act

Unfortunately, the Third Act brought the return of chaos, instability, unpredictability, and confusion. But this time it wasn’t alcohol; it was Alzheimer Dementia.

Glen was diagnosed in 2010 at the age of 74, but the disease had shown itself years earlier. Alzheimer’s shortened Glen’s Third Act, or rather robbed him of it! I often tell people that you have to prepare for the last 10 years of your life, for your Third Act, but there is little that can prepare you for Alzheimer’s Dementia.

There are preventable types of dementia. Vascular Dementia is typically caused by a stroke. Strokes are 80% preventable by working on your cardiovascular health through a good diet and exercise and decreasing inflammation. I’ll have a complete episode later on inflammation.

True Grit

I watched a documentary about Glen (“Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me”), about his final tour in 2012, and I watched the 1969 version of True Grit as part of my preparation for this episode. He died in 2017. The book and the movie help fill in the blank spaces. They both celebrate Glen’s life. Glen plays Texas Ranger La Boeuf in the film. The La Boeuf character is full of Texas wisdom. He and Maddie Ross are sparring and talking to Rooster Cogburn while Rooster is intoxicated.

Mattie Ross: I will not bandy words with a drunkard. 

La Boeuf: That’s real smart. You’ve done nothing when you’ve bested a fool. 

True grit is a movie full of true grit. Maddie. Rooster. LaBeouf. They all showed tenacity in the face of adversity. Watch the documentary and the movie!

I think Kim, Glen, and their family showed true grit. True grit comes from love and compassion. I don’t read these dementia memoirs to experience the tragedies, I read them to witness the grit and tenacity that people show in the face of adversity.

TO READ MORE ENTRIES IN THE HEALTHY AGING SERIES, CLICK HERE.

Healthy Aging Series Season 10 Episode 12

Dementia: The Coming Storm (for Many of You) | Healthy Aging Series: S10 E12

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We were headed to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday. And because we are a little gullible, we paid too much attention to the local news and got to the airport almost 3 hours early. I took a picture of the almost empty Muhammad Ali International airport. Our flight had 37 empty seats. I hate the holiday hype.

The weather reports are almost as bad. I’ve canceled many backpacking trips because forecasters have exaggerated coming storms. I know it’s hype when they give the storm a name. But then again, sometimes they hit the bullseye

I was in the Grand Canyon in 2019 and needed to hike out with my 20-year-old nephew. There is nothing easy about hiking out of the Grand Canyon. The weather report predicted blizzard conditions and that’s what we got. We were halfway out and the 50-mile-an-hour winds hit. I’m guessing the wind chill was close to 0 degrees. I stopped and changed into a dry shirt, but my nephew refused. Stubborn like his mother. He almost froze to death, at least that’s what I thought when we hit Cedar Ridge and he was howling with pain every time the wind gusted to 60-miles-an hour. So maybe, it’s helpful listening to the weather report, sometimes.

This season is entitled “It’s all About the Engine,” by which I mean the brain. I want to tell you about a storm that is coming for many of us, and mark my words, I’m not bullshitting you. This storm has a name and it’s Dementia. Don’t change the channel. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not all bad news. I read a book at the airport and on the flight to Tampa. It’s the “2023 Dementia Overview 19 Dementia Types, and Symptoms,” by Jerry Beller Health Research Institute.
It’s the most current research on dementia in one book. I’m going to hit the highlights of the book. I’ll give you the bad news and the good news. And yes, there are some things you can do. By the way, I watched a new movie directed by Michael Keaton called “Knox Goes Away”, in which he performs as a man who is diagnosed with a very rare type of dementia called, Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease. He’s a hitman and three weeks to live. It’s good!


Nineteen Types of Dementia

There are several types of dementia, 19 in fact. The big dog is Alzheimer’s Disorder. I’ll be sharing the lives of several people who developed Alzheimer’s Disorder: B. Smith, Glenn Campbell,  and Ronald Reagan to name a few. You probably haven’t heard about Lewy Body Dementia. I’m sure you’ve heard about Parkinson’s Disorder. Both involve Lewy Bodies, which are clumps of protein that kills brain cells. People with Parkinson’s Disease, 50 to 80%, often develop dementia. Then there’s Frontal-Temporal Dementia. I know you’ve heard of Bruce Willis. He has Frontal-Temporal Dementia. With this type of dementia, you lose your ability to communicate.


There is Vascular Dementia. This type of dementia often follows a stroke and involves a loss of blood flow to brain cells and consequently they die.
There are several additional types of dementia, but these are the top four. I do want to talk about one that has the headlines, especially in the sports world and it’s CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. I’ll write more about it later, but this type of dementia is caused by chronic injuries to the brain. Symptoms usually follow years or decades down the road. I worked with a father who described playing youth football and doing drills where two teammates practice by colliding helmet to helmet. As a man in his 40s, he struggled to do basic household chores, and parenting, all early signs of dementia.

Vascular Dementia is caused by strokes and other conditions that restrict the flow of blood to the brain. The main arterial-restrictive condition is most often Arterial Sclerosis or Coronary Artery Disease.

There are three risk factors for Vascular Dementia:
High blood pressure, inflammation, and smoking.

Stroke is Preventable

Generally speaking, artery disease is preventable with diet and exercise. Vascular Dementia accounts for 20% of dementia cases and is mostly preventable.

 

When I wrote about brain health earlier in this season, I asserted, “What’s good for the heart, is good for the brain.” I will do an episode later in this season on stroke prevention to supplement what I’ve already written. I’ll do a deeper dive into vascular dementia because it’s one of the most preventable of brain disorders. Almost eight-hundred-thousand people experience a stroke each year, which often results in Vascular Dementia. The CDC has asserted that 80% of strokes are preventable, let me say that again, 80% of strokes are preventable!


Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Might Be Preventable

It’s also worth noting that there was some positive news from a study entitled the Nun Study. In this study, Sister Mary, who lived to be 101 years old, was evaluated at the time of her death and had very high cognitive scores, and at the same time showed neurological signs of Alzheimer’s Disorder.

Here’s What You Can do to Prevent Dementia: Move and Eat Right

I hope you see the positive message in this episode. Yes, there are types of dementia that we don’t understand the causality but, there are things that we can do, things that can decrease our risk of developing dementia. Most of these things include moving and eating right. Imagine that, no meds, no treatment, or supplements, just eating fruits and vegetables, and moving at least 150 minutes per week.

Let me close out by bringing some very sobering news about dementia.

How bad is dementia? It’s devastating!
You lose the people you love. The people that love you, lose you. Think about an hour glass. The sands at the top are you. The bottom section reflects the not you. Eventually, all the sand is gone. Memories. Relationships. Experiences. All that makes you a person, is gone. That’s what dementia does. You die, but your body is still alive. You are gone. The people that you fell in love with are gone. The quirks and personality that lit up the room are gone. The strong shoulder to lean on is gone. The fountain of learning is gone. Your brain dies slowly and the you that makes you a person is gone. The sand in the hourglass disappears and you were gone. It doesn’t matter what type of dementia. It is a sad and tragic end to a full and adventuresome life.

That my friends is what you have to look forward to with Dementia. It isn’t forgetting where you left your keys. It’s forgetting your children, your spouse, your love. It’s forgetting your grandchildren, your trips, your addresses, your profession, your religion, your political affiliation, and all that you now cherish about your life. 

Dementia more than sucks. It is the most horrific thing that you can imagine for yourself or a family member.

If this scares you, I want it to scare you. This season is about the aging brain, “It’s all about the engine.” 

Keep reading because there is good news. There is something you can do. It has to do with eating and moving. You know where I’m going. Let’s look deeper.

TO READ MORE ENTRIES IN THE HEALTHY AGING SERIES, CLICK HERE.

The Magic Necklace, Healthy Aging Series: S10 E11

The Magic Necklace | Healthy Aging Series: S10 E11

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The Magic Necklace

By Mark Neese

There once was a King who had a very beautiful daughter. He loved her very much.

When the Princess was a young child, the King lost his Queen to an unknown illness. This caused him to constantly worry about the welfare of his daughter. As she grew older, he would lecture her about the dangers of the world. “It is full of disease and death,” he explained. He warned her about the untrustworthy people in the world, especially men. “Men want only one thing,” he expounded. 

He also worried about what would happen to her when he was gone. “You can never have enough gold and jewels,” he would tell her almost daily. “You need to prepare for the calamities that are sure to befall you.” As such, she was afraid to spend even a small coin and enjoy her money. 

In fact, she was afraid of almost everything. She was afraid of death, of failing, afraid of the future and living alone, and afraid of living itself. Most importantly, she was afraid of being happy and finding love. 

But as the Princess grew older, despite her fears, she grew lonely. She desired a companion. 

The King, however, feared that if the Princess found a companion, she would leave his safety and eventually fall victim to an illness or other misfortune. He determined to imprison any suitor that attempted to see his daughter. Suitors came from all over the region and beyond because of her exotic beauty, but they were captured en route and imprisoned.

One day, while the King was holding court, a Huntsman presented himself before the King and the Princess. The Princess was immediately enthralled with the Huntsman. She was taken by his earthiness, by his simplicity, and by his self-confidence. But what was most consoling about him was his fearlessness. 

When the King noticed her response to the Huntsman, he immediately went into a panic. He imprisoned the Huntsman; and to ensure that the Princess would never again come into contact with another potential suitor, he had her taken into the wilderness. She was taken to a small cabin and she was provided with the provisions necessary to live. 

There she lived in fear. Out of fear, she would not venture from the cabin. She did not see the Sunrise or Sunset. She did not see the Moon or the stars. She did not see or hear the small creatures outside the cabin. For the longest of time, she sat almost paralyzed, in that small cabin in the wilderness. 

Then, one day, there came a knock on the cabin door. The Princess opened the door and noticed a kind-looking old woman standing at the threshold. She invited her in, and they shared a meal and warm drink. When the meal was over and as they sat together, the princess shared her story and her fears with the visitor. She began to sob, and the old woman came to her and held her tightly. As an act of kindness, she told the princess that she would help, and she pulled a very simple necklace from her pack. “I once feared everything like you do,” she said. “Many years ago this necklace helped me to break free from my fears. Put it around your neck tonight before you sleep. You will dream three dreams. In the morning you will wake, and your fears will be gone.” She kissed the Princess on the forehead and left.

As the young Princess lay in bed, clutching the necklace that was hanging from her neck, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

Dream One: The Mountain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In her first dream she found herself on a mountain. She walked to the pinnacle and there she saw an older woman with beautiful flowing gray hair. The woman gestured for the Princess to sit with her and she wrapped the younger woman in a heavy blanket. She pulled the Princess close to her. “Watch what happens,” the older woman said. Soon a panorama opened. Clouds moved in and surrounded the mountain. A cold wind blew in and they watched as the mountain was battered with snow. 

The clouds slowly moved on and the sun began to glisten off the snow. She watched as snow melted and formed small streams flowing down the mountain. She watched this repeat itself over and over again. 

Then she watched as the days began to lengthen. The sun set later in the day. It was warming. The older woman lowered the heavy blanket from their shoulders. It was still cool, but the trees were sprouting buds and leaves, and eventually flowering. More wildlife was seen scrambling through the brush and green foliage. Thunder clouds would form. Lightening boomed and struck the mountain. The storms raged day after day.

Soon the storms were replaced by warm days and nights. The sun began to radiate off the rocks. “No need for this blanket,” she said and smiled. The evenings produced swarms of insects. The days were full of warm breezes and earthy smells. Playful animals would chase each through the wooded areas.

The days began to shorten, and the nights began to get cooler. When it rained, the droplets were cold. The leaves of the trees began to turn a golden yellow and soon began falling to the ground. They bundled themselves up again.

Soon the leaves began falling, snow fell on the mountain. 

As the young Princess sat and watched the seasons come and go on the mountain, the older woman took her hand and said, “It is unchanged by thousands of seasons, thousands of storms, and thousands frozen and sun-parched days.”  The Princess felt herself become the mountain, and she drifted off to sleep. 

She woke from the dream clutching the necklace.

Dream Two: The Canyon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Princess drifted off to sleep again and found herself walking down into a very deep and wide canyon. She walked down through the strata of granite and sandstone; walking deeper she went until she came to a river. It was a shallow river with aqua green water. On its sandy bank sat a very small golden man. He gestured for her to come sit next to him on the white beach. She took off her shoes, walked on the warm sand, and sat next to him. “This was my home,” he said, and instantly a small village appeared on the opposite bank of the shallow river. He took her hand and together they crossed the river. Adults were working throughout the village. Some were making pots. Others were making clothing. Still, some sat together telling stories. The princess followed the golden man to the circle of Storytellers, and they sat and listened. 

The stories were very old. Hundreds and hundreds of years old. Stories of grandmothers and grandfathers, and of great-great-great grandmothers and grandfathers. Stories about famines and floods. Stories about the healing of sick children. Stories of great hunts. There were stories of friendships and skirmishes with neighbors. The stories were full of hundreds and thousands of thousands of people. Each person lived, and breathed, and loved in this village. Each person had walked on the warm sand and rinsed off in the aqua green water. Each person with a full life and a beautiful story. Each one, now gone for hundreds and even thousands of years.

As the young Princess and the little golden man sat in the circle listening to the stories, the storytellers began to disappear as did the rest of the village. Soon they were there alone, and the Princess was full of sadness because of all the death and loss, and she wept. The little man drew near to her and met her eyes with his eyes. “Do not be sad, sweet princess,” he softly said. “This place was full of life and love. It was full of births and courage. It was lived in and laughed in for centuries.” 

“One day,” he said, “hundreds and maybe even thousands of years from now, they will tell your story. They will tell the stories of your love, life, pain, and joys, and yes, even your death.”

“Living is dying,” he whispered. He held her, much like a loving grandfather would hold his grandchild. He patted her back, and she felt every muscle in her body relax, like she was floating in the aqua green water. She drifted off to sleep in his arms.  

The Princess woke from her second dream, the necklace still hanging from her neck. She touched it and felt comforted as she drifted off to sleep again. 

Dream Three: The Meadow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The young Princess found herself in a beautiful meadow. It was full of tall grass that moved like waves in the wind. Clusters of flowers were everywhere. Insects were buzzing between clusters. 

Small creatures were seen nibbling on the foliage. Rabbits and Woodchucks feasted on the lush grass. Hummingbirds hovered over the flowers and were oblivious to everything else. In fact, no creature seemed concerned about anything.

As the Princess walked through the meadow she noticed a beautiful little girl walking toward her. “Play with me,” the little girl said, holding out her hand. And they played.

They ran together through the meadow. They sloshed through the streams and made mud pies. They picked flowers and ate mulberries. They climbed trees. 

Later as the sun was setting, they watched as the sky turned red, then orange, then yellow, then green, then blue, then indigo, and finally violet. 

When the moon rose, they found a spot and used the grass as a bed. They laid next to each other and felt each other’s warmth. Looking into the sky, they followed the planets as they move through the darkness. 

As they lay there together, in the meadow, on the little grass bed, the Princess looked over at the beautiful little girl and she envied her. The little girl did not have a care in the world, she thought. And when the little girl saw this she said, “I have everything that I need.” 

The Princess held the little girl, and in that moment, she realized that she too had everything that she needed. She drifted off to sleep.

As the sun began to rise the Princess slowly woke. The necklace was still around her neck. She touched it and smiled. 

She gathered her few belongings and traveled through the wilderness, finally arriving home. She immediately noticed a solemn mood in the castle and discovered that the King had died in his sleep the night before. 

The princess rushed to the place where the Huntsman and all of the suitors were being held and she released them.  With the help of the Huntsman, she laid to rest her father, the King. Wonderful stories would be told about the old King and his Queen for hundreds and hundreds of years.

The Princess became the Queen and the Huntsman, her Prince. And they ruled their kingdom with love and simplicity, and most important, with fearlessness. 

And they lived happily ever after. 

TO READ MORE ENTRIES IN THE HEALTHY AGING SERIES, CLICK HERE.