Singleness, The Key To Longevity According To A 116-year-old Woman
We tend to understand singleness as a sentimental failure and, therefore, a vital disaster. This, although it sounds harsh, is like this: our society punishes people who are single. Proof of this is found in the fact that there are no commercial products dedicated to people who decide to walk the path of being single.
Yes, we found hundreds of offers for dream trips for two, gourmet dinners for two, ideal gifts for the couple, etc. However, I am yet to see a product that makes an apology for singleness.
Because being single is, many times, a decision. In other words, as far-fetched as it may seem to many people, in fact singleness induces a state of fullness and freedom that is equally healthy and desirable.
Live without waiting, live single
We do not have the obligation to be available for a relationship and, according to Emma Morano, having this clear is the key to its longevity. This woman is already the oldest known person in the world, adding up to no more and no less than 116 years.
When asked by the New York Times about her secret, she answered something that left them all stunned: After the breakup of an unhappy marriage in 1938, Emma Morano decided that she did not want to be dominated by anyone and that, really, everything she needed she had it in herself.
However, as gerontologists claim, there is no key that guarantees longevity. In fact, if you talk to 100 centenarians, you come across 100 different stories. Thus, the fact of living more or less years is largely determined by the genetic factor.
The elixir of eternal youth: do not regret getting old and live as we wish
Happiness and emotional well-being must come from oneself and from the decisions we make in relation to our emotional life. When you decide to be single you also decide to be brave and tolerant, because you will find yourself on the road with a diversity of opinions or beliefs.
As we have commented, society punishes singleness and reduces certain possibilities. For example, it is more complicated to be granted a loan in a bank if you are not married. Examples like these abound and become invisible daggers that send us a clear message: “being single is not good.”
These “subtle” daggers can hurt us and thus make us wish we had a partner we don’t really love or live our lives in a way we don’t want. Somehow the social culture that tries to “tempt singles” to find a partner and achieve a full life.
But no, being single should always be a personal option that leads to other options that allow us to explore a new and different world from the one we think is established. Ideally, we should all be free to say what anchors us to life and what we want to do without heeding the social pressure that tells you that being single is not okay. There are people who, like Emma, decide to be happy in their singleness and not seek or wait for someone to rescue them from that state. Deciding to be single is not synonymous with insane but with freedom and autonomy to direct one’s emotional life as desired.
