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I get this newsletter called "Brain in the News" which is a compilation of news articles about the brain from the current month. ( free subscriptions from www.dana.org) In this issue there was an article about Henrikje van Andel-Schipper. She was a Dutch woman who died in 2005 at the age of 115, the oldest human being according to Guiness book of world records. Researchers also studied her brain from age 111 on. Although she had trouble with her eyesight, she performed more like a person of 65 or 70. Her mind was clear with no sign of dementia or Alzheimer's. When she died she donated her body to medical researchers who have discovered her brain was young with none of the internal plaque or tangles that often show up with memory loss in the aging brain. I used to want to live to 104 and I have changed my tune since experiencing my mother's mental decline and the physical decline of Gary's mother. It doesn't look pretty to me. Madame van Andel-Schipper did it pretty. The researchers asked her what her secret was. She said to eat pickled herring and keep breathing. When she was 100 she had surgery for breast cancer and lived 15 more years. This woman was remarkable. Her attitude was very positive and she was sharp as a tack. They said her mother lived to be 100 too. Thank you Madame Van Andel-Schipper for your inspiration. So what determines how we age? It seems like some combination of genes, environment and perception. By perception I mean how we perceive and react to whatever our process looks like.What I want is to put minimal energy into cosmetically preventing the aging process and maximum energy into taking care of myself in body mind and spirit. What does that look like? Exercising regularly and not being compulsive about it, eating healthily but not being ruthless, getting enough sleep and not punishing myself if don't sometimes. Meditating and doing yoga most days tunes me up in body mind and spirit. Doing less or missing a day or a few days and forgiving myself feeds my soul. What if berating ourselves for not taking care of ourselves perfectly creates more stress than not doing it at all? Perfectionism seems to lead to paralysis. If I can't do it perfectly why bother doing anything at all? If this blog isn't wonderful, it is horrible. Black and white thinking keeps us from noticing and appreciating the ways we already are taking care of ourselves. How do you take care of yourself now? Would you be willing to appreciate yourself now and after you do each self-nurturing behavior no matter how small?