“No matter what age or difficulty, we always recover and grow!”
A very special life lesson from a 103-year-old doctor.

Dr. Gladys McGarry, a world-renowned physician known as the "Mother of Holistic Medicine," shares her secrets to living a joyful and vibrant life, drawing on her 80 years of medical practice and over 100 years of life experience.
Dr. Gladys lived a successful life as a pioneer in a new medicine that changed the way people cared for themselves and their health around the world, as a physician who cared for and healed countless patients, as a mother who gave birth to and raised six children, and as the mother of a large family spanning five generations.
At the same time, she suffered from many hardships and pains, including dyslexia, gender discrimination, two bouts with cancer, the death of her daughter, and divorce.
Despite these setbacks and trials, this 103-year-old doctor enjoyed a life filled with joy and vitality every day until the end of her days.
What is the secret?

“How can I live a healthy and happy life until the day I die?” To answer this most fervent wish of all, Dr. Gladys recommends first changing our attitude toward life.
It is a shift in perspective to a medical philosophy and a philosophy of life that treats not only illness but also our entire being and life, cares for not only the body but also the mind and soul, and believes that we ourselves, not the doctors, are the agents of healing.
It also provides specific practical guidance on how to live a life of purpose by finding things that give you energy, how to live in constant motion without stagnation or blockage, how to love everyone without fear, how to befriend everyone and receive help from the whole world, how to learn from all life experiences, including pain and failure, and how to use your energy to the fullest without sparing it.
Dr. Gladys advises that if we live by these six life attitudes, we can easily recover and grow at any age and no matter what difficulties we face, and she is living proof of this.

Although I have been on this planet for over 100 years, unfortunately, I have not yet discovered the secret ingredient that guarantees health and longevity.
But if you're looking to discover the secret to true health and happiness, I can help.
This secret has nothing to do with vitamins or supplements.
Instead, start with a simple shift in perspective.
(…) In my view, true health has nothing to do with diagnosing disease or simply prolonging life.
Rather, it's about figuring out who you are, noticing how you need to grow and change, and listening to what makes your heart sing.
(…) The medical community believes that doctors cure patients, but it is the patients who cure their illnesses.

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28~29

The term holistic medicine refers to an approach, not a strategy.
Holistic medicine treats the entire patient, not just the disease.
In holistic medicine, each individual is viewed as a complete and complex being, with unique physical, mental, and spiritual characteristics, each with their own goals to achieve throughout their life.
(…) It is for this very reason that when a patient comes to me with headaches, I ask them what dreams they want to achieve, and when I have a patient with a chronic illness, I talk about what happened to them in their childhood.
So, among the patients who come to me, there are many who come to inquire about not only physical problems but also psychological or spiritual issues.

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31

I hope that by reading this book, you will awaken and activate your inner healing and learning powers, and live each day to the fullest.
I call this process “Affirming Life and Moving Forward.”
And in this book, I share six useful secrets for this work.
But ultimately, it's up to you to embrace life and move forward.
Because you are the one who will live your life, and you are the one who can heal your life.

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34

Everyone deserves to have moments like this where they realize their own worth.
We were all born on this earth for a reason, and we must learn, grow, and use our talents to the world.
When we can live like that, creative life overflows within us.
I call this power 'vitality'.
This vitality is the reason we live.
Here we find fulfillment and joy.
When love moves our lives, we become alive.
Vitality is the energy we get from the things that are valuable and important in our lives.
My parents found vitality in caring for the underprivileged.
“Everyone has a reason for being born into this world.”
This is the first secret I'm sharing with you.

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55~56

A sense of purpose reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and prevents the worsening of Alzheimer's disease.
Research also shows that volunteering is linked to a reduced risk of death and increased happiness.
This means that living a life with a sense of purpose actually has a positive impact on living longer and healthier lives.
The joy that a sense of purpose brings to our lives radiates out into the world around us.
In holistic medicine, a healthy body is interconnected with a healthy soul, and furthermore, a healthy soul is interconnected with a healthy world.
When we take care of our souls and minds, the world becomes healthy.
Because we are all connected, we communicate well with each other, and we fit well together.
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71

I like to compare each individual to a puzzle piece.
Because each puzzle piece maintains its own unique characteristics.
This is because you can complete a puzzle by blending in with your original self without having to change into something other than yourself.
There is no need to judge other people's pieces, no matter what their shape is.
Likewise, there is no need to strive to be like others or worry about others judging your appearance.

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74

In today's society, where being busy is considered a virtue, it is not easy to find one's own right path.
We dream of success in everything we do and judge our success by the standards set by the world.
Success is judged by others' perceptions of one's work ability, the money one earns from that work, or the privileges one receives.
In fact, happiness is much more about how you feel than about those things.
We suffer when we try to follow what others are doing, do things out of a sense of duty, and force ourselves to wear clothes that don't fit us.

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85~86

Young people, by my standards anyone under 99 is young, but especially those in their teens and twenties need hobbies that can relieve stress.
This is because people these days are exposed in real time to all kinds of crises occurring around the world.
From social imbalances and injustice to environmental problems and impending dangers caused by the way humans live on Earth, we feel a crisis more acute than ever.
This sense of crisis is very useful information to us on the one hand, but it is useless if we do not use this information.
If we become paralyzed by this sense of crisis or fail to learn and develop activities that bring us joy, we will lose our vitality and our chances of living as useful people in the world will diminish.
A person can live a fulfilling life when he or she enjoys various interests and finds vitality.
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90

There are various causes behind the decline or complete cessation of bodily functions.
For example, athletes may be in a position where they cannot move for a considerable period of time due to an injury.
Women may experience infertility when their periods become irregular or stop altogether for several years.
Trauma can also make it easy to become psychologically trapped.
At this time, our brain feels like it is spinning in one place, because 'it actually is like that'.
When we repeat a specific neural pathway, our brain cannot see other neural pathways and only moves along the same pathway.
It seems that deep in the human subconscious is engraved the fact that life must move.
Even when life seems stagnant and you have no idea what to do next, the idea that life must move becomes clearer.
“Life must move.” This is the second secret to a healthy life.
Life itself is constantly moving.
So, to live a life that is in line with our vitality, we must allow life to flow smoothly within us.

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110~111

Anyone who thinks the desert is dead has never seen what it looks like after it rains.
As the rainy season begins, thick dark clouds cover the sky in the afternoon, as if by clockwork.
As the dark clouds pass overhead, the sky opens and life pours out.
The rain lasts for at most 20 to 30 minutes and stops quickly.
At that moment, the entire desert stretches and wakes up.
All living things that had always lived and breathed there were waiting patiently for that moment.
Cactus stems swell, birds sing, and lizards jump around in celebration.
All kinds of rats and small mammals scurry to the pool and drink water.
Life is always there.
It's just that we don't realize it.
The life force within us is also like this.
It is always breathing within us, always changing and moving.
While we wait for you to notice.
(…) We are beings with emotions and souls, so if we are stuck somewhere, we cannot develop and grow.
The same goes for specific thoughts, feelings, identities, judgments, opinions, and even people.
Because there is no life in a still, stationary state.

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116~117

Scientific studies show that movement can help manage many chronic pain conditions.
Moving your body helps keep your joints flexible and strong.
Moving your body helps prevent muscle weakness and supports your ligaments and bones.
Moving your body promotes blood circulation.
Moving your body has the effect of distracting you from the pain.
(…) One of the main reasons we don’t want to move when we’re in pain is fear.
Because I'm afraid that if I do that, it will be more painful and miserable.
But life never stops, it always moves.
If you feel pain, start by taking deep breaths.
When you breathe deeply, you should focus on how your abdomen and chest move.
Let's start with breathing and gradually increase the movement of the body.
Depending on the movement, the pain will come and go repeatedly.
You may also observe a reduction in pain during certain movements.
Once you get moving, you'll be able to stand up and move more.

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134~135

There is a world of difference between letting go of the past and moving forward and completely denying the past.
But I believe people feel the difference.
Most of us know when we are stuck.
It's when you torture yourself by chewing over the same thoughts over and over again, or by clinging to memories you can't let go of.
It's when a relationship, career, or project you cherished has ended, and instead of starting something new, you find yourself lamenting what you didn't accomplish.
In times like these, we often need to quickly let go of the past.
You have to realize that what is no longer serving you is something you should just let go of.
(…)
“It’s nothing.”
This is how our mothers taught us to let go of our problems.
This gesture was familiar and natural to my mother.
No matter how difficult the problem, I was able to persevere and move forward without getting bogged down in it. I let go of unhelpful thoughts and refocused on what was important to me, moving forward.
My mother was never emotionally dull or cold.
He was a person full of love.
But Mom had important things to do in this world, and her “no big deal” kept her focused on her work.

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145~147

It's natural for anyone to feel fearful when their current situation is bad, and it's hard to even guess how much worse it will get.
But if you're simply consumed by fear, you can block out almost any possibility of helping you resolve the situation.
When you are in fear, your rational judgment breaks down and it becomes impossible to clearly understand the situation.
This is precisely why learning to move from fear to love should be one of the life goals we all strive for.
As you move from fear to love, you will not only feel alive within yourself, but you will also be able to help others move from fear.
A fearless person inspires those around him.
A fearless person is not a reckless person, but someone who faces life with an open mind.
Those who overcome fear encounter love again, and so they encourage and empower others.
(…) Love is the best medicine in this world.
The power of love transforms our lives from a passive state (a life of survival) to an active state (a life of purpose).
So the third secret I'm sharing is this:
“Love is the most powerful medicine.” Love activates life force.
Love has a special power to transform everything it touches.
Love turns monotonous and arduous labor into a blessing.
Change cruel laughter into joyful laughter.
Turn empty words into meaningful messages.
When the power of love is at work, endless possibilities open up.

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178~180

We only become lovable when we realize that we deserve to be loved.
You cannot love another person until you believe that you deserve to be loved.
This is why, after learning to choose love over fear, the first topic we address is “self-love.”
So what prevents us from realizing that we are worthy of love? (…) You've probably heard the saying, "Pride goes before destruction."
This statement is often misunderstood.
Pride is inherently destructive because it is based on the false premise that one is superior or more important than others, or that one does something more valuable than others.
But narcissism is completely different from arrogance.
Self-love is an attitude of gratitude for the life given to you.
A person who refuses to love himself also blocks the love that others send him.
To accept love, we must shatter the false belief that narcissism is pride.
The foundation of all love, including love given and love received, is self-love.
Self-love is absolutely essential to a healthy life.

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190~191

The way my parents treated their patients had a profound impact on how I treated people throughout my life, not only as a doctor but also as a human being.
My parents taught me this.
“Love ‘everyone’.”
There is one thing to note here.
Loving everyone doesn't mean agreeing with everyone's opinions.
This doesn't mean you have to support everything everyone does, nor does it mean you have to spend a lot of time with them.
(…) If I can’t love someone, I think it’s not because there’s something wrong with that person, but because it’s my problem to solve, and I try to find a way to love that person.
First, I look for even the smallest commonality between that person and me.
That person and I both like children, or we like desert landscapes, or whatever.
If you can't find anything in common, look for something you like about that person.
Even something as trivial as the way that person hugs or the way their hair is styled is fine.
One thing I have confirmed over and over again in my life is that my love wants to grow.
(…) To love is to allow the energy of love to flow in and out of your heart without obstruction and to not stop its flow.
From this perspective, love is a crucial key, an indispensable element, to a healthy and happy life.

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211~212

Life begins with relationships with people, is maintained within those relationships, and creates new relationships.
We are happiest and healthiest when we contribute to and benefit from the vitality of our community.
The fourth secret I share is based on this very concept.
“You are never alone.”
When we connect with a community and live in harmony with its vitality, our individual vitality is amplified.
In other words, it means that we grow and develop when we accept others who want to connect with us.
Since we are both providers and receivers of relationships, we ourselves determine the health of the community.
It is each individual's responsibility to form a social network that supports them.
Additionally, forming a social network that supports oneself helps form a social network that supports others.
There is no reason to necessarily view providing social connections as an altruistic act.
Because expanding your social network is beneficial to you.

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232~233

Letting other people into our lives means accepting that life can get a little messy and chaotic.
We cannot expect that everything will go as we wish without any shortcomings as we live together.
But there is important value to be gained from this imperfection.
I understand the human desire to control situations.
Each of us has our own path to follow and we want to decide for ourselves how to walk that path.
However, it is a beautiful experience to have our paths intersect and meet each other along those paths.
The reason why meeting each other on the path of life can be beautiful is because we share the path we have walked so far, and as we share what we have learned and the path we should take in the future, we learn and grow together.
(…) When we try to create a sterile world free from the imperfections and annoyances that come with interacting with others, we end up weakening our vitality, like poor Harry who played outdoors wearing gloves.

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242~243

I look for elements in people that make them friends and find ways to get along with everyone.
Even if I find only one thing in common, I find the point where that person's life force and mine flow together and utilize that.
At this point, I may have a long or short interaction with that person.
The relationship may deepen or remain superficial.
Anyway, while interacting like that, we become friends.
Just live each day in the present without worrying about how close or far we become.
(…) It is dangerous to think that you have to agree on everything to have a pleasant friendship.
This way of thinking pushes relationships to extremes without recognizing each other's differences.
It's only natural that it's easier to find common ground when someone's life is similar to your own.
But sometimes meeting someone very different from yourself can open your eyes to a new way of looking at the world.
This means that interacting with people we don't like very much is just as valuable.
We grow when we approach people who think differently from us with curiosity, without judging them.

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250~252

In modern society, boundaries are a hot topic.
When people think of a border, they often think of a thick, high wall like a fortress wall as a means of keeping people out.
This is a misunderstanding.
The boundary lies deep within us.
Boundaries are the criteria by which we decide how to spend our energy, the criteria by which we choose what is worth focusing our attention on and what is not.
(…) From this perspective, setting appropriate boundaries is not about excluding people, but about embracing the best aspects of them.

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259~260

Listening skills have served me well throughout my life.
Because in many cases, there is no better way to start interacting positively with the community.
Truly listening to other people's stories helps us understand their perspectives and struggles.
When we listen to others with sincerity, they feel that they are not alone, and we, the listeners, realize that we are not alone either.
Listening is one of the most important things we can do for those around us.

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269~270

We live our happiest lives when we cultivate curiosity and a burning passion to learn, no matter what happens.
I believe that learning, growing, and evolving from experience is the essence of life.
We can live the most fulfilling lives when we seek guidance anytime, anywhere.
Life always has new lessons for us to learn, if we just have the courage to learn.
But often, the most difficult thing is to muster up the courage to learn.
(…)
“Everything is your teacher.”
Seeking guidance in life is one of the most important things we can do on our soul's journey.
When learning becomes a habit, seeking guidance becomes enjoyable.
Of course, if it's the most difficult moment in your life, seeking guidance won't make the suffering any less.
But even in these moments, if we seek guidance, we can easily overcome less difficult situations.
When we affirm life and move forward, life approaches us affirming us.
Life always wants to show us something.
Life communicates with us through the events, people, and things that appear before us, and provides us with opportunities to be grateful for being alive.

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292~294

When life gets tough, it's easy to feel like the whole world is against you.
To someone who doesn't believe in mystical powers or concepts like fate, events, people, or circumstances that cause them distress will simply seem like evidence of their own bad luck.
To those who believe that life flows according to God's will, events, people, and circumstances that present trials may seem like divine punishment, proof that they are unworthy of blessings.
When we face trials in life, we often feel the urge to reject them.
As we live, we are constantly faced with trials.
What constitutes a trial and how difficult it is to bear varies from person to person and from community to community.
But no one can escape the fact that “life is hard.”
Therefore, a small but important shift in perspective is necessary.
Instead of rejecting and resisting a life of suffering, we need to welcome it with open arms.

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300~301

I realized that if I wanted to maintain good relationships with people and enjoy life, I had to learn to interact positively with children who tried to bully me rather than fighting them.
I had to act like a mother.
I had to have the humor, wisdom, and self-respect to deal with people who were hostile to me and provoking me, so that I wouldn't fight back with the same hostility.
(…) When something happens in life, there are many times when we don’t immediately realize how significant it is.
That morning in bed, I was just thinking about how to solve my relationship problems.
I knew something had changed in my thinking, but I had no idea how much of an impact this change would have on my life.
But the simple choice to “stop fighting the life I’ve been given” has been one of the biggest realizations of my life.
It took a lot of suffering to reach this realization.
I was rejected by people, I was lonely, and I lived in fear that things might never get better.
My life, which had been unpleasant and heavy, changed for the better after I had an epiphany that morning in bed.
As with many things in life, difficult problems are what push us forward.

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304~305

Even though it was public knowledge that my marriage was falling apart, I realized there were still things to be grateful for.
So I drove across downtown Phoenix.
Even though I was past retirement age, I took out a personal loan and parked my car in the parking lot of the new hospital I was opening with my daughter, Helene.
I learned by listening to the voice within me that knew what to do next, and ultimately realized that life goes on.
No matter how shocked we are, no matter how unsure we are of what to do about what is happening, there is another 'me' within us that knows exactly what to do.
There is always an inner voice that guides us through the challenges life throws at us.
I call the wiser 'me' within me "Dr. Gladys."
You too can call the voice within you, your other 'self', by any name you wish.
I guarantee you that there is definitely a wiser 'me' out there for you.
We all have the wisdom to navigate desperate moments.
Let us not doubt this fact.

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335

We often suffer when we are stuck in old identities as we live.
In this matter too, the attitude of taking life as a teacher is important.
People who take life as their teacher have the identity of a student and seek life's teachings.
Our identity as students is one of the most important identities in our lives.
We become someone's daughter or son, father or mother, brother or friend.
We may be believers in a particular religion or spiritual people, or we may be atheists.
We are citizens of a country and we also form political identities that are important to us.
But the most important thing is to have the identity of a student attending the school of life.
This is because only then can we understand the trials and joys we experience in a much larger context.

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342

According to the first law of thermodynamics, energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
Only the form changes.
The world we know is all energy.
Energy is all around us and within us.
Just as mushrooms, flowers, caterpillars, and elephants are made of energy, we humans are also made of energy.
Human vitality is the way energy moves through us and the direction in which that energy flows.
Life force is the source of energy and the destination to which it returns.
Living healthily is therefore a game of learning how to use your energy in your life.
(…) Life is a journey of striving to enjoy a richer vitality.
Therefore, we must accept the rhythm of our soul's vibrant, pulsating life force as it is, discover the reason for our existence in this world at every moment, find something that brings us more vitality the more we do it, and pour our life force into that work.
As you read this book, you will notice that I am using the terms vitality, energy, and love interchangeably.
Because to me, these three things mean almost the same thing.
(…) Finally, the sixth secret I want to share with you is this.
“Use your energy freely.”
(…) We live in an age that praises individualism.
Modern culture promotes self-importance and independence.
So we might wonder:
“Am I capable of connecting with something greater and more important than myself?” “Am I not great or important?” This individualistic mindset encourages us to hoard as many resources as possible.
We are often told to conserve resources and distribute them precisely so that we do not run out of them.
If you look at the world through an individualistic mindset, you should not waste energy, but rather conserve it and keep it locked up.
But this goes against the flow of life itself.
Even as you read this, your heart is beating without stopping, your blood is circulating throughout your body, and your breath is flowing in and out without stopping.
It means you still have plenty of energy left to use.
If you don't use the energy you have for fear of running out of energy, you not only block your life force from going out into the world, but you also block the life force from returning to you.

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354~357

When I explain how to use my energy wisely, many patients interpret it in the opposite way to what I intended, thinking of it as a way to 'save' energy.
The key is not to save energy, but to 'use' it.
People who only conserve energy think in a negative way that they do not have enough energy.
We are so accustomed to negative views that we don't even realize that we hold negative views.
But I look at it from a positive perspective.
Literally looking at 'everything' from a positive perspective.
Seeing everything from a positive perspective means that even if we notice that certain activities, places, or people drain our energy, we don't necessarily need to eliminate them from our lives.
For such objects, we need to make a conscious effort to use positive energy instead of negative energy.
When interacting with such a subject, you need to take control of the situation and decide how to turn a negative interaction into a positive one.

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379~380

People who are gripped by fear tend to think it is too late.
I think I lack effort, talent, and experience.
I think I lack education and money.
People who are afraid feel like they are behind while others are far ahead, or that they are running out of time.
But there is always a right time for love.
There is always a right time in life.
We must respect this opportune moment.
(…)
Perhaps fear will rear its head and make you doubt yourself.
“Is it too late to do this?” “Is it already too late?” Now that I’m older, I laugh whenever someone says something like this.
“Am I too old?” The longer I live to reflect on my life, the more ridiculous the question seems.
(…)
Many people view life or the process of growing older in this way.
It seems like we take the passing of a year as a declaration that the good times are over and that it's time to get serious and grow up.
Many people believe that once they reach a certain age or stage, growth stops, treatment is impossible, or their behavior and thoughts can no longer be changed.
When we think of youth, it's funny how it always seems to run away from us.
Even little Maggie thought she was too old! But our growth never stops.
Healing is always possible.
There is no age that is too old to make a change.
Whenever I meet patients who worry that they look too old, I just dismiss their worries with one word:
“There is nothing that I cannot do when I am too old.” (…)
Do you remember when you first realized you were getting older? For most people, it was quite a while ago.
'I'm too old to learn an instrument.
I'm too old to go back to school.
I'm too old to change jobs now.
Do you remember that moment when you thought, "I'm too old to turn back the clock?" Looking back now, you wonder, "Was I really 'too old' then?" If you didn't think you were too old then, how can you be sure you are now? (...)
What if we turned the "I'm too old to do it" mindset around? Instead of thinking we've "wasted" so many years doing what we want to do, what if we actually spent that much time preparing for it?
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401~406

What if we fundamentally shifted our thinking? Contrary to popular belief in our youth-obsessed culture, we can actually become "better" as our bodies age.
In fact, we need to shift our thinking! From this perspective, the more important it is to age, not to compensate for lost or diminished functions, but to embrace our true selves.
As each year passes, we get closer to our purpose in life.

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411

I hope that the secrets and stories I share in this book will resonate with you.
I hope that day will come, even if not right now.
This book contains the most valuable lessons I have learned in my 102 years of life.
I present this teaching to you, and I hope you will accept it with joy.

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417

Your life may be unstable right now because you are not firmly connected to your vitality.
Maybe you are struggling in a difficult reality.
Or maybe, like most people, you find yourself going back and forth between happy and sad moments, searching for meaning in life somewhere in between.
No matter what situation you find yourself in, it is time to turn your eyes to the life force within you.
It's not too late.
It doesn't matter whether you were completely unaware of the life force within you or whether you had forgotten it.
The life force is always within you.
Life force lives and breathes within your body and soul, waiting for your choice.

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