Dan Buettner’s best seller The Blue Zones tells of elder populations in Okinawa, who enjoy a specific circle of friends from age five on. As little children, their parents introduce them to one another, and this group of five or six, called a Moai, becomes their own personal support group. These people are playmates in youth and a support system for a lifetime.
Every afternoon around five o’clock, Moai members gather together to share the events of the day, laugh and cry together, to tease each other as well as to look out for each other. If someone is missing, the rest will hunt him down…..just to make sure everything is fine. When special events occur in the life of one, they are shared with all. There is always someone with who to vent, or to boast, to be joyful or to sympathize in sorrow.
The safety net this custom provides has many benefits. Prolonged loneliness has negative effects on both physical health and emotional wellbeing. He who has a Moai has no need to be lonely. Opportunities for social interaction stimulate the brain, the heart and circulatory system. Laughter releases endorphins, which produce a beneficial sense of wellbeing, not the least of which is a slight analgesic effect, soothing to old bones and tired muscles.
Who Is In Your Moai?
Family and friends can provide a Moai of sorts if we see them regularly and often. But, in today’s world, time and distance often prevent this. So here are some suggestions for Moai’s:
Bridge clubs and other card/game playing groups
Service clubs – Rotary, Sertoma, Kiwanis, Lions, Masonic groups, Elks, etc.
Churches, Temples, and groups associated with them
Interest groups, Gyms, Spas, Exercise groups, Political organizations, causes
Classes, degree programs, Alumni organizations
AARP local chapters, Travel clubs
Famous Moai’s: Colonel Potter and his colleagues, The Regulars at Cheers, The Golden Girls, The Three Musketeers, The Mouseketeers (Google “Blue Zones Moai” for other topics to explore)