101 Year old Local Reveals Her Secret To Longevity

By Pauline Bunay

According to science, many factors can affect the longevity of a human being such as genetics, diet and physical health.

However, according to Dorothy Vendrasco, there is no secret for longevity.

“It’s just another day in my life,” said Vendrasco.

For her, a very modest and adorable woman, life is about doing what you are responsible for and not behaving wrongly.

“Put in your time and hope that what you did is not gonna be disliked,” said Vendrasco.

 For Dorothy her age is just an insignificant number which doesn’t overshadow the happiness she feels when her family visits her. Her responsibility in life was raising her five children, which she did in the best way she could and. Now, more than showing off on her age, she enjoys the company her children provide her with on these special dates, showing her all their love and appreciation.

“What I find special is having some of my family visiting,” she said.

For many people this might not seem very convincing, however, according to science, when someone feels guilt, usually after committing a dishonest act or considered wrong by society, human body secretes the stress hormone cortisol which causes high levels of stress reactions in our bodies.

This could be related to many health issues including physical and mental illnesses. On the other hand, a hormone that has been related with good health and as a treatment for mental and physical illnesses is the oxytocin hormone, which our bodies secrete when interacting with other human beings.
 

Dorothy might be more than right with her statement saying that by spending time with people you love and not letting life’s situations interfere with your responsibilities, you’ll have a better life, like in the beautiful story of the king and the Serenity painting:

“Once upon a time a king who wanted to teach his son the meaning of serenity, so he asked the whole kingdom to paint multiple art pieces representing their own concept of the word, in order to show the prince and make him understand it. When all paintings were in the castle, the king saw multiple beautiful paintings of flowers and nature beauties, but the king, disappointed, kept looking for the painting he needed to represent correctly the definition of the word.

Eventually, the king found a hidden painting which did not follow the requirements, showing a savage sea storm and rocks being hit by the strong waves and then the king exited exclaimed “Finally!” choosing this one as the winner.

When his servants asked him why he chose this painting, the king pointed to the rocks on the painting and showed them something that they missed on it, a very small bird feeding its chicks despite the storm, so then the king said; “Serenity is not having storms in your existence, but always having clear what your priority is.”

After what Dorothy considers a normal life, she has left us with a message of always having a purpose in life which reminds us why it is important to live every day. It doesn’t matter if it’s not something outstanding, but fulfilling our responsibilities with honesty, values and love, could definitely make a change in our lives for then one day say as Dorothy did;

“I lived my life my way and I hope it was what was expected of me.”