Sometime ago, I mentioned in one of my pieces something about regions in the world known for having low rates of chronic diseases and higher life expectancy. These are Okinawa (Japan), Sardinia (Italy), Nicoya (Costa Rica), Ikaria (Greece) and Lorna Linda in California. They are places described as “blue zones,” a term coined by Dan Buettner, a National Geographic explorer who used a blue pen in circling these five regions. That is why they describe them as “blue zones.” In fact, a Netflix documentary on the blue zone is now available in one of our channels.

A friend, Virgina Pasalo, who comes from Pangasinan where I grew up as a child, had written about me on Facebook and in her column in a community paper in Dagupan, describing me as one who may have been transported from the blue zone because of my “strong social connections and for having lived a purposeful life, caring for other people, and longevity.” She also mentioned the late Senator Letty Shahani and Marietta Primicias Goco, as well as Sister Mary John Mananzan who is still quite active, as people who share attributes of the blue zoners. She further described the four of us as “Urdujas,” as we all have roots in Pangasinan, and like the courageous lady warrior, we have made significant contributions to Philippine society. I truly appreciate Gie’s assessment and am now trying to reflect if her observations are correct.

Another “kababayan,” Lino Aldana noted in a Facebook post more “hotspots” where residents were found to have healthy lifestyles and strong social ties. He cited local places like Silang Cavite, Paraiso Village in Batangas, the Guimaras farms where he noted that their residents go through daily physical activity and have as well “mindful eating habits” for plant-based food, strong social connections, supportive and nurturing communities, strong sense of spirituality, and caring for the elderly. He also mentioned “emerging” communities that are trying to adopt some of these practices like the Don Mariano Marcos State University in the Ilocos region and Boracay.

Their observations reminded me of my sister, Lynn, who turns 92 this coming week. She had shown many of the attributes that characterizes communities where a large percentage of the population had exhibited longevity because of a healthy life style. These habits were perhaps developed in childhood during the four years of the Japanese occupation when we survived on the fruit of the land because no imports were allowed.

Lynn and I grew up in a family of three girls. While growing up, I felt a sense of sibling rivalry as I thought my mother was drawn to Lynn because she was prettier. She had lovely curls which our mother attributed to her admiration of the fleece of sheep owned by a neighbor. She started winning prizes in baby contests as well as beauty contests. Too, I was not too happy with my name and was jealous of names she gave my two sisters, she, Evangeline, and the youngest, Lydia. But that was in the past and my mother treated us fairly by sewing identical dresses for the three of us. She spent more time tutoring me and I became a bookworm at an early age.

Both of us went to UP for college. At UP, she acted in a play by Wilfrido Guerrero. Later, she decided to take up law at the M.L. Quezon University where she met Ding (Fernando) Alberto. Both of them got married after passing the bar. She practiced law for a while but stopped to give more attention to her seven children – Dindo, the eldest, who passed away two years ago, Ricky, Eric, Mayette, Leah, Joy and Toby. That was when she focused on preparing healthy meals so that they did not have to depend on food purchased outside. She learned how to be able to provide decent clothes, send her children to private schools through careful financial planning. Today, she has 15 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren who come together regularly not only during birthdates.

Lynn and I bonded quite well during all these decades. She worked on research and writing consultancies. She also served as a member of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board, a government agency under the Office of the President, for three terms. She enjoyed this role which she did quite well as she has a critical mind, a mind like a steel trap, and is quite meticulous. Although quite busy taking care of a large family, she does not neglect self-care.

We do a lot of things together. In our modern times, where media and technology have exerted considerable influence on the lifestyle of the younger generation, we sometimes may appear anachronistic in the sense that the frugality that we had adopted during the earlier days continue to appear in our consumption habits. For example, we only fill our plates with food that we can consume so that we do not have much food waste.

I still keep a poster on consumption that I framed and which reads: “Live simply that others may simply live.” It helps me during these times when our society appears to be moving to a “throw away culture.” We must try to counter this trend by not accumulating more than what we need.

Lynn and I share the philosophy of simple elegance. We believe that “blue zone” citizens exercise such frugality and moderation. ([email protected])