How to Age Well: What a Health Crisis Taught Me About Slow Living
When I started Freedom in Later Life just over a decade ago, I was navigating the choppy waters of divorce and attempting to rebuild my life from scratch. In my early fifties, I believed freedom was something tangible and external—freedom from another person, freedom from conforming to society's expectations, freedom from the life I'd been living. It seemed so clear then: break free from the constraints, and happiness would follow.
But somewhere along the way, that original vision lost its lustre. The blog went dormant, shelved alongside other dreams that didn't quite pan out the way I'd imagined. When I resurrected Freedom in Later Life in the summer of 2025, my thinking hadn't evolved as much as I'd hoped. I was still fixating on external circumstances, still convinced that freedom required the right conditions to fall perfectly into place, the right living situation, the right financial security, the right relationship status.
Now, as I've progressed into my sixties, I've come to a humbling realisation: no matter how hard I fight for those perfect conditions, they never quite materialise. There's always something not quite right, some element of life that refuses to align with my expectations. And that's when it hit me, maybe, just maybe, freedom doesn't depend on external conditions at all.
The Wake-Up Call I Didn't See Coming
You'd think after more than a decade of practising and teaching mindfulness, I would have internalised this fundamental truth: when your internal world is in chaos, your external reality will inevitably reflect that turmoil. But apparently, I needed a more dramatic reminder.
This week delivered that lesson with unmistakable clarity when I suddenly found myself in hospital following a severe bout of dizziness and nausea. One week later, I'm still recovering, and the doctors can only speculate about the underlying cause. Their uncertainty forced me to do my own investigation: what had changed in my lifestyle compared to two or three years ago when my health was optimal?
The dietary changes were significant. I'd stopped eating meat just over ten years ago and had eliminated most animal products, including cow's milk. But in recent months, influenced by mainstream health "experts" constantly emphasising protein intake, I'd reversed course completely. I started eating all kinds of meat again and drinking cow's milk. Perhaps, I reasoned, it was time to return to what had worked for my body before.
But the dietary shift, while important, wasn't the most crucial insight.
The Signals We Choose to Ignore
The most important revelation I want to share with you is this: my body had been sending me warning signals for quite some time. I'd been waking up with headaches almost every morning, yet I pushed through regardless. I told myself it was nothing, that I just needed more water, better sleep, a different pillow—anything but the truth that I was ignoring my body's desperate attempts to communicate.
I should have known better. I've spent years studying the impact of trauma on the body, absorbing the wisdom of experts like Gabor Maté, who reminds us that "what happens inside you is the result of what happens to you." I've read Bessel van der Kolk's The Body Keeps the Score, which explores how trauma creates a mind-body disconnection. I've taught these concepts to others.
Yet when it came to my own body's messages, I was remarkably deaf.
The Relentless Push: A Trait We Wear Like Armor
So what does my illness have to do with aging well, and why should you care about my personal health crisis?
Because in my recovery and reflection, I recognised a trait I've carried for decades: the compulsion to keep going, keep pushing, always asking "what's next?" The very idea of slowing down as I aged felt out of character, even weak. I prided myself on my energy, my productivity, my refusal to let age define my capabilities.
Then it struck me with the force of revelation: what if I've had this completely backwards?
Lessons from the Blue Zones
Consider the world's Blue Zones—regions where people routinely live well into their nineties and past one hundred years old. Places like Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California. Researchers have studied these communities extensively, searching for the secrets to longevity and vitality.
One characteristic stands out above many others: these aren't people living fast-paced, deadline-driven lives. They live slowly and intentionally. Yes, they may still work, tending gardens, caring for animals, engaging with their community, and this work may be physically demanding. But they certainly don't stay up all night worrying about looming deadlines or obsessing over future ambitions.
I remember those days when I lived in Cyprus. The weekend meant the beach, and that was that, no negotiations, no guilt, no exceptions. It was simply what people did. There was no collective anxiety about unfinished work or productivity metrics. The culture itself supported rest and connection. Unfortunately, even in traditionally slower-paced regions like Cyprus, that lifestyle has been eroding under the pressure of globalisation and hustle culture.
Redefining What Matters
This past week in the hospital forced me to confront an uncomfortable truth: it's time to stop pushing so relentlessly. I have enough. I am enough. And perhaps most importantly, what felt urgent and essential in my twenties and thirties no longer serves me in my sixties.
This isn't about giving up or losing ambition. It's about recognising that the metrics of success and fulfilment naturally evolve as we age. The career achievements that once defined me don't hold the same weight anymore. The need to prove myself has quietened. The fear of missing out on opportunities has been replaced by the wisdom to be selective about where I invest my limited energy.
Does aging well require us to slow down? Does it demand that we take better care of ourselves and make more intentional choices about how we spend our time? Based on both research and my recent personal experience, I believe the answer is a resounding yes.
6 Practical Steps Toward Slow, Intentional Living
So how can we integrate more slow, intentional living into our lives, especially as we age? Here are strategies that I'm implementing in my own life and recommend for anyone seeking greater freedom through intentional ageing:
Listen to Your Body's Whispers Before They Become Shouts
Your body communicates constantly. Those morning headaches, that persistent fatigue, the digestive issues you've normalised—these aren't just inconveniences to power through. They're your body's early warning system. Pay attention to these signals before they escalate into a crisis that forces you to listen.Create a simple daily body scan practice: take five minutes each morning to notice how you feel physically. Where do you hold tension? What hurts? What feels good? This isn't about judgment or fixing everything immediately—it's about building awareness and respecting the information your body provides.
Question Health Advice Through Your Own Lens
We're bombarded with health advice from experts, influencers, and well-meaning friends. But what works for someone else may not work for you.Pay attention to how your body responds to different foods, movement practices, and lifestyle choices. You are the ultimate expert on your own body. Trust your experience over external noise.
Build in Non-Negotiable Rest
Take a page from those Blue Zone communities and make rest a cultural practice in your own life. Designate one day per week as a true day of rest—no work emails, no side projects, no productivity optimisation. Just rest, connection, and activities that bring you joy without any ulterior motive.This isn't laziness; it's essential maintenance for a life well-lived.
Redefine Productivity for This Season of Life
Challenge your ingrained beliefs about what it means to be productive. In your twenties and thirties, productivity might have meant long hours, rapid output, and constant growth. In your fifties, sixties, and beyond, productivity might look more like depth over breadth, quality over quantity, wisdom over speed.Ask yourself regularly: "What actually needs to be done today?" versus "What am I doing out of habit or old programming?"
Cultivate Presence Over Achievement
Slow living isn't about doing less for the sake of doing less—it's about being more fully present for what you do choose. Whether you're having a conversation, preparing a meal, or working on a project, can you bring your full attention to it rather than mentally rehearsing what comes next?This presence is the essence of mindfulness, and it transforms ordinary activities into sources of meaning and satisfaction.
Embrace the Wisdom of Imperfect Conditions
Remember my realisation that perfect conditions never arrive? This is actually liberating news. If freedom doesn't depend on external circumstances falling perfectly into place, then it's available to us right now, in this moment, with all its imperfections and challenges.
Freedom in later life isn't about finally achieving the perfect situation—it's about making peace with life as it is whilst still working towards positive change. It's about releasing the grip of "if only" thinking and finding contentment in "what is."
The Freedom That Comes from Slowing Down
True freedom, I'm learning, isn't found in breaking free from external constraints or waiting for ideal conditions. It's discovered in the daily choice to honour your body, respect your limits, and live in alignment with what matters most to you now, not what mattered decades ago, not what society says should matter, but what genuinely brings you vitality and joy today.
My hospital stay was an unwelcome interruption, but it delivered a message I clearly needed to hear: slow down, pay attention, and remember that you are enough exactly as you are. You don't need to keep proving your worth through relentless activity. Your value isn't measured by your productivity.
As we age, we have the opportunity to model a different way of living—one that prioritises wellbeing over achievement, presence over productivity, and wisdom over speed. This isn't just good for us individually; it's a radical act in a culture that often treats aging as something to fight against rather than grow into with grace.
The freedom I was searching for a decade ago, the freedom I'm still seeking today, isn't out there waiting for me to find it. It's right here, available in each moment I choose to slow down, listen deeply, and live intentionally.
What will you choose today?
Resources to Support Intentional Aging
If this article has resonated with you, you're not alone. I'm currently creating a collection of thoughtful resources to help you age well through mindfulness, slow living, and intentional choices.
This isn't about anti-aging or pretending we're still in our thirties. It's about embracing this stage of life with wisdom, intention, and vitality. It's about creating the internal freedom that makes external circumstances less important.
I'm building a waiting list for these resources right now. By joining, you'll be the first to know when they’re available, and you’ll receive early access and supportive material to help you begin living more intentionally today.
If you're ready to:
Learn practical mindfulness techniques tailored for later life
Discover how to slow down without feeling like you're giving up
Redefine what freedom and fulfilment mean in your 60s and beyond
Then I’d love you to join the waiting list.
Join the waiting list and take a gentle step towards the freedom you’ve been searching for.
