As an end-of-life doula, I often ponder our reluctance to face death. We consider human cognition a blessing, yet many of us would prefer not to be “blessed” with the knowledge that we will die. Some take steps to avoid, or greatly delay, that reality. In recent years, Silicon Valley billionaires have invested in biotech start-ups and adopted lifestyles in pursuit of longevity, if not immortality. While the technology is new, the pursuit of a long life was also an obsession in medieval Europe. Some aspired to live for hundreds of years, like Methuselah. Then, as now, the emphasis was on prevention. One theory held that as a person aged, their body cooled and dried. While this process could not be stopped, proper living could slow it down. People were told to avoid sneezing and sex, which dried out the body; limit the intake of green fruits and vegetables; and avoid cutting their fingernails if the Moon was in the sign of Gemini, Cancer, or Pisces. Saturdays were a bad time for a manicure or pedicure. Yet a lot of old advice had merit and is now supported by empirical evidence: Exercise, get enough sleep, eat a healthy diet, avoid excessive alcohol consumption, and take care of one’s mental health. Of course, it also helps to be rich. And lucky. Pope John XXI, who claimed he knew how to prolong life, died at 62 in 1277 when a ceiling collapsed on him. And the author of a 1489 medical text on longevity was killed by the disgruntled family of a patient. In sum: Accept the inevitable but do what you can to ward off the evitable: Eat your broccoli and cancel Saturday’s mani-pedi appointment. Most important, trite as it sounds, emphasize quality over quantity. It’s no coincidence that it’s usually the rich and powerful who want to unnaturally extend their time on earth. The rest of us want to use our allotted days well and bequeath valuable lessons and memories when our time is up. L’chaim.
Prolonging life: A medieval and modern obsession
