I don’t have anything pink or red for Valentine’s Day, sorry.
What intrigued me enough to share this week has to do with the color blue. I’m part of a leadership forum here in Wenatchee, Washington, and as our get-together last night winded down, one of the guys who heads up the medical center mentioned these places around the world identified for having people who live much longer than the rest of us. They’re called Blue Zones. There’s apparently an entire organization devoted to studying and educating us on the concept.
It reminded me of a chapter (to bring up this book again, heh) in Gladwell’s Outliers about the town Rosetto, Pennsylvania. Similar to a Blue Zone, people in that town were outliers who seemed to suffer much less from heart disease. The theory: sitting on your porch in the evening saying hello to your neighbors rather than hiding inside binging on Netflix is good for the heart. It became known as The Rosetto Effect. Coincidentally, community is a big factor in Blue Zones.
Interesting stuff, for sure. It makes me think, and then talk about with my wife Katie, how we can continue engaging in our community (one of the reasons we moved to a small town, in fact), prioritizing getting outside (our toddler Sefton is finally asking to go skiing!), and being mindful of our diet.
