Moai: Friendship for Life
In Okinawa, Japan, there is a concept called Moai (pronounced mo-eye).
It means a circle of lifelong friends.
Friends who support each other well into old age. It’s more than friendship. It’s a pact. A group you belong to from childhood, often lasting your entire life.
You show up. For weddings, funerals, celebrations, heartaches. You bring food when someone is sick. You lend money. You listen. You don’t keep score.
Because someone will do the same for you.
Okinawa was made famous by the book blue zones. Blue zones were places in which people lived longer than others.
There are good reasons why Okinawans live longer than almost anyone else on the planet.
Of course, what they eat matters. So does exercise and nature.
But Moai could be the glue that binds it all. Deep human connections.
In our modern world, we are connected to hundreds, maybe thousands of people. Social media does that for us.
Even if we are not deeply connected, we feel like we are. We scroll through images, click on hearts, skim past birthdays.
Rarely do we sit in silence and simply listen.
Rarely do we pick up the phone just to check in. And almost never would we say, I am there for you for life.
Moai is not a luxury. It is a need.
Your nervous system calms in the presence of people who love you unconditionally. Your immune system strengthens. Your heart rate slows.
Your body remembers that it belongs.
Find your Moai. Or create one. Start with one person. Be real. Be vulnerable. Show up. And keep showing up. Even when it’s inconvenient. Especially when it is.
In the end, it may not be the supplements, the perfect sleep, or the cold plunge that makes the biggest difference.
It might just be the people sitting around your dinner table.
That is the science of friendship. And the gift of Moai.
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