Longevity. The longness.

Longevity. Long life. Long existence.

 

As of 2025, the global average life expectancy at birth is approximately 73.49 years. But we all live and die differently. For instance. Significant disparities exist between countries. Take this into account. Hong Kong has one of the highest life expectancies at 85.63 years, while countries like the Central African Republic have much lower averages. Only 54 years old, there.

 

But it seems like people are living to longer ages. The 100s seem almost common now. Like, what about her? A soccer-loving nun from Brazil. She is believed to have become the world’s oldest living person at nearly 117, following the recent death of a woman from Japan.

 

Her name is Sister Inah Canabarro. She was so skinny growing up that many didn’t think she would survive childhood.

 

In a recent interview (January 2025), she was asked about the secret to longevity.

You’ll never guess her answer. Or maybe you will. She said it was because of her Catholic faith.

 

Canabarro was born on June 8, 1908, to a large family in southern Brazil, according to LongeviQuest researchers. She is still active, happy, intelligent, and quite alert in her current 117th year. Amazing.

 

But really, there is no rhyme or reason to most of it. I’ve seen heavy, life-long drinkers live well into their 90s. Smokers too. And then I’ve known of people who were fitness nuts who passed away at a young age.

 

And navigating is hard. Today, red wine is good for you. Tomorrow it will kill you. Today, coffee should be avoided. Tomorrow, it is the magic elixir to a long, healthy life.

Go figure. No figure.

 

With all of that said, we can only hope for the best and do our best to make way for it.

Today, I wish all of you a long and happy life.