Don’t be afraid to treat yourself to your favorite things.
The Guinness World Record is being held by a 118-year-old French nun named Sister André.
So of course, it’s only natural to want to know all about André’s life in case it holds any shocking secrets to longevity, especially because Andre even survived getting COVID-19 in 2021!
However, it seems as though her secrets to a long life lie in the simple things: helping others and enjoying her favorite foods and drinks every day.
Sister André was born as Lucile Randon in 1904, and grew up in the southern region of France. Most of Randon’s life has been dedicated to helping others, especially through her service as a Catholic nun. But according to CNN, before Randon became a nun, she had spent almost 30 years working in a hospital helping orphans and the elderly, which is something that she started during World War II.
And this desire to help others, which became Sister André’s mission in life, has given her a lasting purpose throughout her entire life. She gave a recent interview to reporters from her hospice home in Toulan, where she told them that working hard to help others is one of her secrets to longevity.
“People say that work kills, for me work kept me alive, I kept working until I was 108,” said Sister André. “People should help each other and love each other instead of hating. If we shared all that, things would be a lot better.”
This comes as no surprise if you know anything about the world’s Blue Zones, which are the five regions of the world with the highest concentrations of centenarians. Among the shared list of habits that many people in these regions practice, having a life’s purpose and dedicating yourself to your community ranks high in importance for them.
While serving others is important to Sister André, she also knows a thing or two about indulgence. In fact, one nursing home resident told CNN that André loves eating chocolate and drinking wine and that she treats herself to one glass of wine every single day!
We can definitely learn a lot from Sister André, especially when it comes to a healthy balance. Life doesn’t have to be all about serving or all about indulgence; we can have both. And it seems like this may be a secret to living a longer, more fulfilling life.
By Samantha Boesch for eat this, not that©
Source: The #1 Drink the World’s Oldest Woman Has Every Day — Eat This Not That
