At 103, Arizona native Gladys McGarey continues to find reasons to wake up each day and live a purposeful life woven with love.
Born in 1921, Mrs. McGarey spent the first 15 years of her life in Northern India, where her parents worked as medical missionaries.
“I thought it was exactly the place I needed to be at,” she told The Epoch Times.“I had what I considered a glorious childhood.”
When she turned 15, she left India for the United States to start on a journey that would lead her to an illustrious career in the medical field.
After obtaining a bachelor of science from Muskingum University, Ohio, Mrs. McGarey attended Women’s Medical College in Philadelphia during the Second World War.
“When the war started, I started medical school and ended when the war ended,” she said. “A whole new era of medicine was coming in as we finished our training.”
As the first woman doctor during her internship at Deaconess Hospital in Cincinnati, she faced a slew of challenges head-on.
For men who were on call at the hospital, they had a designated place to sleep, but there were no such rooms for women who were in the same position.
“There was no place for me,” Mrs. McGarey said, “so I had the X-ray table, a pillow, and a blanket. I really wasn’t unhappy with that because at least I had a place where I could lie down.”
Initially, the staff at the hospital didn’t accept her, but that didn’t deter her. She continued to work hard, built her reputation to become a trusted voice in the field of medicine, and eventually co-founded American Holistic Medicine with her husband, William McGarey.
Maintaining a Routine
Although Mrs. McGarey has six children, 10 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild, much of her time is spent trying to help others lead a more fulfilling life. She also recognizes the need to take care of herself. Having a predictable routine is one of the ways that helps her accomplish so much as a 103-year-old.She wakes up in the morning and has a cup of coffee, she then eats Raisin Bran for breakfast and tries to exercise when she can.
To stay active, the centenarian rode a tricycle until she fell and broke her ribs. But now she tries to walk at least 3,000 steps a day with her walker.
During the day, she prioritizes an afternoon nap.
The Five L’s
Today, many want to glean from the wisdom of Mrs. McGarey’s long life, which she credits to a five-point philosophy that she calls “5Ls.”“The first two ‘Ls’” she said, “are life and love.”
These two she considers to be inseparable. Mrs. McGarey believes that all of the other “Ls” will fail to function properly without love.
The third “L” is laughter.
“Laughter without love is cruel,” Mrs. McGarey said. “It’s mean; it breaks up families; it causes war. But laughter with love is joy and happiness.”
The fourth “L” is labor.
“Labor without love ... is too hard,” Mrs. McGarey said. “But labor with love is bliss. It’s what makes our hearts sing.”
The fifth “L” is listening.
“Without love, listening is an empty sound,” she said. “Listening with love is understanding. You understand what it’s all about, and you work with it.”
Secret to Longevity
Having lived a long, happy, and healthy life is no mean feat. Mrs. McGarey credits her longevity to finding a purpose.“I think we all have a purpose, each one of us. And when you find your purpose, and you work with this, you’ve got something to wake up in the morning and think, ‘Oh, yes, another new day,’” Mrs. McGarey said.
In addition to finding a purpose, she also encourages others to find out who they are as individuals and what makes them tick. Mrs. McGarey believes that more than diets, discovering oneself can bring hope and healing. This is also what led her to write her latest book at the age of 102.
Although she had written five other medical books, she said, “There was something about the juice that I couldn’t quite express when I was trying to really talk about medicine.”
She summed up her recent book, The Well-Lived Life, by saying that it gets at “the very essence of why healing happens, and how it happens, and that we, as individuals, who are the patient, are the ones who actually do the healing.”
She hopes that the book will be a “sort of reach back into our own being to find out who we are, what we’re here for, and how we’re doing the work that we came to do.”
She acknowledges that many today feel stuck in their job, in their family life, or in chasing a dream.
“If you’ve put your mind to something, and you feel like you’re stuck, find out why you are stuck, and then do something about it; either get out of the situation or change how you’re doing it,” Mrs. McGarey said.
Reflecting on her journey thus far, she shared her advice for leading a joyful life: “Try to get a good laugh at least once a day.
“When you laugh, your diaphragm tickles your adrenals, and it makes you, gives you energy. It’s actually a process of getting more energy if you can let yourself laugh. Life is really funny when you look at things, and you can find joy in it if you just choose to.”
