When I talk about ‘long living,’ I’m not referring to some elusive quest for eternal youth. It’s more about mastering the art of gracefully stumbling through the years.
It’s about stubbornly adapting to life’s twists and turns, with a healthy dose of dark humour to keep me going.

While fiction gives us eternally young vampires, reality gives us wrinkles and wisdom(some elude the former and others the latter). (Spoiler alert: wisdom’s the consolation prize.)

My “long living manual” includes chapters on parenting at various ages, unexpected career pivots, and the fine art of rebuilding after loss.
Picture this: being a daughter, mother, and grandmother simultaneously across continents, all while launching businesses and following a personal code of honour that’s about as practical as a chocolate teapot in today’s world.

The secret?
There isn’t one. Just a constant juggling act of roles – daughter at 50, mother at 20 and 40, grandmother before my time – while building enterprises and living by rules that’d make Machiavelli scratch his head.

Sure, honour doesn’t pay the bills or win popularity contests, but it’s my compass in this chaos.
Think less ‘eternal fountain of youth’ and more of ‘well-worn hiking boots’ – not glamorous, but they’ll get you where you need to go, even if that means crossing oceans with nothing but principles and determination in your pocket. (on a bike, horseback or other preferences).

May harmony find you, and live long and intense!

Irena Phaedra