Words that Never Leave You: “I like a lot of organic food from the mountain, but the specific food itself is not important. It’s important that people just enjoy it.”
Part Thirty-Two in an ongoing series from Hollie's book "Words That Never Leave You: Fifty Pearls of Wisdom and Reflection from Survivors Across the World."
Panjshir Valley’s Abdul Satar, known by locals simply as “Sheikh” is one of the most revered Afghans in the picturesque province. At an estimated 105 years of age – Afghanistan does not have standardized birth records in many rural areas – I watch each morning ardently as he shuffles down from the hilltops with more zest than men half his age.
But what is Abdul’s quintessential secret to longevity?
“I like a lot of organic food from the mountain, but the specific food itself is not important,” he responded with a toothless grin. “It’s important that people just enjoy it.”
Such a simple concept long forgotten in our Western world consumed with calories and low-carb diets and food labels and dress sizes, I think to myself.
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