The Well-Lived Life: A 102-Year-Old Doctor's Six Secrets to Health and Happiness at Every Age

about my patients. Many people have similar concerns. To be interested and engaged in life often brings this sense of being tugged in multiple directions toward different passions, each of which requires time, attention, and life force. Where should we pour our juice? It feels as though we have to make a choice, but we’re complex beings, and we’re

But in truth, happiness has much more to do with how we feel than anything else. When we try to follow everyone else, do what we think we “should,” or create an identity for ourselves that doesn’t work, we suffer.

“You were stretching beyond where your heart wanted to go, and your body was trying to tell you that. Thank it. It showed you exactly what you needed to see.”

Instead, it’s up to each of us to align with our own soul and help others do the same.

Numerous Eastern philosophies have noted that there is a certain energy tied to well-being; it’s been called both prana and chi. Western philosophers may refer to something more theoretical, such as motivation or purpose. Emergency medical workers and hospice care professionals often describe juice as a will to live, because when a person loses it,

The juice is our reason for living. It’s our fulfillment, our joy. It’s what happens when life is activated by love. It’s the energy we get from the things that matter and mean something to us. It’s what my parents got from their work with underserved populations, and it’s the first secret I share with you: You are here for a reason. Each of us is

To be truly alive, we must find the life force within ourselves and direct our energy toward it.

True health is about living with the world around us as an engaged, participatory experience. It’s about cooperating with the living force within us: our will, our desire to be here and to share our gifts with the world. Our willingness to do so becomes our sense of purpose, and once we have that, our souls can be healthy in any state.

Health doesn’t require us to live in a problem-free body, just as happiness doesn’t require us to experience a problem-free life. Health and happiness are about being so connected to our own life force that we feel we fit into the world around us.