There are many good reasons why the over 130-year-old Chinese lady Alimihan Seyiti (6/25/1886-) lived such a long, happy, and healthy life.
She kept active every day:
- Lived on a farm surrounded by pasture land and did farm work throughout her entire life.
- Enjoyed singing and dancing. She sang after every meal and danced for over 100 years since her teenage years.
- Engaged in house chores every day without complaint.
- Enjoyed playing with little kids. Surrounded by kids made her feel young and happy.
She had a regular daily schedule:
- Getting up between the hours of 5 am and 6 am and then worshipping her faith.
- Having breakfast from 8 am and 8:30 am, lunch between noon and 1 pm, with dinner consisting of soup. She had a simple diet that frequently consisted of noodle soup.
- Being in bed around 10 pm.
She resided in a natural environment in southern Xinjiang, China, where the people have a reputation for extended longevity. According to census data, Xinjiang has 22.5% of mainland China’s centenarians with just 1.3% of the population, while over 90% of the centenarians in Xinjiang lived in southern Xinjiang, where has pleasantly warm weather. The local people drink clean natural water from the river and their wells. Living her entire life on natural pastureland, Alimihan enjoyed eating free range meat. She also liked to eat nuts and local fruits.
But the ultimate key to her longevity, according to Alimihan, “I keep good mood every day, even under very undesirable situations.” She gave us two examples:
- Her son died at the age of 40. As a mother, she was very saddened. But she overcame the sadness shortly. “my son’s death makes me appreciate life even more. We should smile at both birth and death. Facing many uncertainties in life, we need to keep calm. My son just left a step earlier. We will meet again. So, I shouldn’t feel sorry or sad.”
- She had cancer when she was 100 years old. Doctors told her that she could only live up to half a year without chemotherapy treatment and live a year longer with the treatment. She insisted to leave the hospital without having the treatment. As usual, she did her house chores at home, visited and chatted with neighbors, and enjoyed her time together with little kids. Additionally, she cheered herself up and kept happy every single day. A year later, when she had a check-up on her cancer, cancer disappeared.
Her advice to “young” people? “Be happy every day.”
Can you keep happy every day or even every single moment?
Sources: https://www.souid.com/zhongguozhizui/9449_2.html 2/4 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1297022/uygur-alimihan-seyiti-age-127-may-set-record-oldest-person-alive 2/2 http://www.chinanews.com/sh/2013/10-17/5391711.shtml
This post was published in 2018, and Alimihan Seyiti (阿丽米罕·色依提) is 135 years old now by June 28, 2021.