THE POWER OF AGE

Off and on for the past six years I've explored parts of the world where people live the longest healthiest lives—regions called Blue Zones—and tried to decipher their secrets. The result is a landmark story that I wrote for this month's National Geographic magazine.

In the article, we investigated California Seventh Day Adventists, a mountainous culture in central Sardinia and Okinawan islanders. In the process, I interviewed over 50 centenarians and the researchers who study them.

To be honest, I did not look forward to actually meeting centenarians. I associated them with the smell of retirement homes, pureed food and my own eventual frailty. My plan was to swoop in, get the story and get out with no unnecessary reflection.

Somehow, my plan failed.

Now I'm back on the story. Today is the first day of the Blue Zones Quest here in Okinawa. We've set up our headquarters on the Motobu peninsula on the northern part of the island, a place where jungle still riots, the deadly habu viper poses a threat, and 90-year-olds spear a lunch of sashimi in the surrounding seas. Inside, our team of 20 sits at a table completely covered with computers and a tangle of wires. Ten Americans write stories and edit videos while our Japanese team members immediately translate our work for the Japanese audience.

Forty-year-old Sayoko leads the Japanese team. She's a petite powerhouse with seemingly endless energy and a laugh like a mechanical whine that makes everyone around her laugh. I first met Sayoko in 2000, when we co-led a Blue Zones-like project called IslandQuest. Then, like now, we let an online audience direct a team of experts to unlock the secrets to Okinawan longevity. At the time, Sayoko was a fast-rising manager in a Tokyo company. She worked 17-hour days and was on a path to realizing her dream to run her own private school.

During IslandQuest, we met a 99 year-old woman named Ushi Okushima. Ushi's smooth, bronze skin, quick wit and an easy laugh amazed both Sayoko and me. She woke every morning at 6:00 a.m., had a breakfast of miso-vegtable soup and then worked in her garden for three hours. In the afternoon, Ushi napped, met her friends for an hour of gossip and put herself to sleep with a glass of mugwort sake. I was interested in how miso soup, working in the garden and mugwort sake might explain Ushi's extreme longevity. Sayoko noticed something else.

"I remembered her big smile and the way that she created a [warm] atmosphere that felt like a big hug," Sayoko told me today as we traveled to our first appointment. "Ushi didn't know us but immediately welcomed us like friends. She had a big energy."

"After the interview," Sayoko continued. "I went outside to drink some juice and I realized that this is something big for me. I loved my job in Tokyo but there was something missing." Sayoko put her hand over her heart. "I felt empty right here. Suddenly, my dream changed."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"The first night I got back to Tokyo, I told my boss I'm quitting. Within a year, I was married and had my first baby. I moved to the island of Yakushima with my husband. No one knew me, knew my career, nor my old life. There, I completely dedicated my life to my children and my husband. I have never been happier in my life."

"And what was it about Ushi that triggered all of this," I asked.

"She really enjoyed simple things in life—gardening, sitting with friends, drinking sake. Usually, when we meet seniors, we think, 'this person lives in the past.' Ushi lived in moment, and loved every minute of it. I was not living in the moment, I was living for my dream, like a horse chasing a carrot."

I had to know, "So, if you love your life on Yakushima, why have you joined the Blue Zones team?"

Sayoko turned to me. She almost always has a smile on her pretty face. Now, she was serious. "I came here to find Ushi and thank her for changing my life."

Now, 50 centenarian interviews later, I too want to find Ushi. This time, it's not just to gather facts.

Live Large,

Dan