It’s hot and sunny and time to fire up the grill. I love how summer gets us all outside where we can see and smell our neighbors’ dinner cooking.

The other night it was a neighborhood smorgasbord of chicken, fish, grilled veggies and potatoes, salads, and cookies. Can’t say we didn’t eat too much as we filled plates from our own and our neighbors’ abundance.

So how can this meat-heavy, oversized meal help us live longer? It’s not a perfect recipe. But the secrets of longevity are more than diet and exercise.

Our neighbors are like family. We help each other out, share tools, watch each others’ kids, and when riled up, expel some energy in competitive four-square in the street. It’s our little Moai, a close community that looks out for each other.

Two babies will be born this summer among our three households. Neighbor Brent and I will likely head outside with our newborns to give our wives time to sleep. Meals will likely be shared.

While I know we are going into an overwhelming phase of life, what I know is that the community we have on our block is like those in Blue Zones. It is possible to go into stressful (and joyful) periods and not have them be entirely anti-health and longevity.

The beauty of what the Blue Zones communities teach us is that food and exercise matter — but so do friends, community, living by our values, and having fun. These standards of health defy what is drilled into our heads in the U.S.

To counter the all-to-often narrow definition of health, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and Blue Zones created a simple on-line tool called the Vitality Compass. In a matter of minutes you can answer 36 questions and get an accurate projection of your longevity.

This simple scale is free and available at: www.aarp.org/bluezonesproject. Select the button “Participate” and get started. Your data is confidential.

At the end, you can select a button on the screen that says “Final Report” where you will get customized feedback on how to add more good years to life. For me, the guy who spends long days on the road to Albert Lea from my block in Minneapolis, the secret is not getting angry at idiot drivers on I-35 and more barbecues with friends.

What’s your path to an active, healthy long life? Use the Vitality Compass to find your way.

Joel Spoonheim is the health initiative director for the AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project.