Live Long And Prosper- The Challenge

            Recently, with the passing of Leonard Nimoy,  Star Trek fans suffered the loss of their dear Mr. Spock.  Although I am not a Trekkie, (but I have been known to use Star Trek episodes for a good Advisory or NCSY program!), it hit home as Leonard Nimoy was a Jewish boy from Boston whose father owned a barber shop. My father, a”h, was also from Boston and remembered that barber shop well.  (Although a Yankee fan myself, my father was an avid Red Sox fan, as was Nimoy, so that also creates a sense of affinity).  I have often thought of his famous Vulcan salute, based on the hands of the Kohanim and his catch phrase, “Live long and prosper,” which he stated was based on the Birchat Kohanim.

            This phrase, “Live long and prosper” struck a chord after three pieces I have recently read.  First, is an issue of Time Magazine  from February 23  which featured numerous articles on, “This Baby Could Live To Be 142 Years Old- Dispatches From The Frontiers of Longevity.”  This special double issue targets the research on longevity and the secret to “living long and prospering.”  Whether it is a compound called rapamycin, which has been injected into mice and is slowing aging and damage to cells or manipulating genes, there are solutions related to finding a “cure for aging.”  There are, of course, lifestyle changes we can make to extend life, as the articles note. Some areas focused upon in Time are more exercise, wearing sunglasses, wearing sunscreen, stimulating your mind, specific diets, being married etc.  

            As a psychologist, the research on how mindset and attitude affect the physiology of aging has always been of interest to me. Dr. Ellen Langer, a psychologist at Harvard, who has been studying aging and the mind stated, “Let’s treat mind and body as just words.  Let’s put them together as one thing and say anywhere you put the mind, you also put the body.”  “Meditation, optimism, resilience and social connection” all apply to the “mind” arena.  A gene that codes for inflammation, one cause of aging, is regulated by meditation.  Reducing stress reduces cellular damage.  Then, of course, there is the optimism effect.  Those who score higher on tests of optimism also have lower rates of heart disease, cancer and mortality.   Cynics tend to have higher risks of death. 

            How would the wise Mr. Spock relate to the above research on the strategies to “live long and prosper?” Well, one might maintain that Spock the rationalist would not believe in the effect of the emotions on life expectancy, but then again, he was a scientist and science does clearly demonstrate its efficacy.  

            The second piece of reading, to which I referred above, was a book that my daughter is reading for class, which I picked up to read as well. (I recently have been making an effort to read the books my children are reading so that we can discuss.  I have been finding it a good way to share experiences with my children- without even helping them with assignments related to the book. I highly recommend it!)  Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbit, tells of the Tuck family who drank from a spring whose waters, unbeknownst to them, prevented them from aging or suffering any physical harm. They do not perceive their being able to live forever as the blessing one might imagine.  Winnie Foster discovers them, has the opportunity herself to drink the waters, and chooses not to do so.  The question of aging comes to mind.  Do we want to live forever?   Which is more important- to live long or to prosper? If one lives long without “prospering,” as Jesse states in the book that he wishes to do something important, then is it worth living?   Or, as Judaism maintains in Megillat Eicha 3:39,  “Mah yitonen adam chai” “Why does a living man complain?” That all life is precious- no matter what the quality.

             The third piece of reading, (again read due to the fact that my son was reading it), was The Giver , by Lois Lowry.  In the Giver, the elderly are “released” when the community feels they have lived long enough.   Such an idea is antithetical to the Jewish ideal of respect to the elderly, and the sanctification of life.  Who are they to decide that their elderly have “lived long” enough?

            In thinking about the questions regarding aging and living a prosperous life, I have been considering,  What is the message we as parents can relay to our children?

In Bereishit 47:8, Pharaoh asks Yaakov how old he is.  Yaakov answers that he is 130 years old and “few and bad have been the days of the years of my life.” Yaakov is indicating, uncharacteristically, that he has “lived a long life” but has not “prospered.”  The Daat Zekenim M’Baalei HaTosafot states that Yaakov was found at fault for complaining thusly, and therefore, the Midrash states, 33 years were deducted from his life due to the 33 words he uttered.   Perhaps, I would like to maintain that the deduction of years was not a punishment. Rather,  like the research on optimism and attitude, due to his negative attitude the deduction of years was a natural result of a negative mindset.  He did not see his life as “prosperous.”  “You are as old as you feel.”

This is the message I want to relay to my children.  It is not enough to “live long,” but one must also “prosper.”  It is a conscious decision to see life as prosperous, rather than as a failure. One can see the cup as half full or half empty.  “Half full” people do not just live long- (as science has proven), but they have made the choice to see themselves as prospering.  The more one visualizes that success, the greater the chance one has to actually be successful.   So, “Live long and prosper,” is not just a blessing, it is a challenge we present to our children to live life with optimism, hope and a successful mindset.  

Advisory Update:

6th Grade-   Sixth graders began a unit on the topic of "Who is a friend?" What is true friendship? What qualities do we look for in a friend?

7th Grade-  Students discussed the "bystander effect" and why so many do nothing when they see injustice.

8th Grade-  Students continued a unit on the changing relationship between parents and teens.