I made a new friend named Orit Ramler and recently had her as a guest on my podcast. Orit calls herself a “citizen of the world” as she has lived all over the world! Orit is a life coach and author and she just published her first book, The Box of Life: A Guide to Living with Purpose and Preserving What Matters Most. Be sure to check out her episode on the Turn Your Life Around podcast found on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.
Orit’s story is inspirational and the book came to life after a decade-long intergenerational friendship with a fellow named Charles. Unsuspecting friends, she connected with a stranger in the community center she was running, and their friendship took on a much greater meaning: Purpose. Charles asked Orit to write his memoir and she took a chance. She wrote her first book, not in her native language at the age of 57.
You’ll have to get a copy to learn more about what exactly a “Box of Life” is. However, Orit says in her book that Charles’s motto was ” The secret to longevity is being creative and having a project.” According to Orit, Charles always had a project, recreated himself multiple times over, and was still working on projects well into his 90s before he passed. This “secret” to longevity resonated with me. My grandmother is 92. She is always working on a project. Sewing, gardening, painting, or serving meals to the “elderly”. That’s my favorite, she doesn’t see herself as the “elderly”. One of the best projects of hers is that she makes teddy bears from women’s wedding dresses. She just made 12 bears for a fella who asked that they be made from his Great-grandmother’s wedding dress. They are beautiful! She always has a project going and she is a very youthful 90-something.
Charles, via Orit, has inspired me to keep in mind this idea to stay creative and always have a project. What project do you have? How are you tapping into your creativity? I encourage you to think about these things. Then maybe you and I too, can have longevity.
Be Well,
Sarah
