How Old Are You?

You probably know some (dorks) people in their (late) forties who are “old,” and others who are in their seventies and yet are “young.” I say that because I believe most of the readers of this column have confidence in Webster’s Dictionary. Not once does Webster refer to the calendar or the number of birthdays one has had. He simply defines “old” as “outgrown usefulness; belonging to the past; shabby; stale.” I can’t imagine that you would lay claim to any of those adjectives concerning the way you feel about life.

 

Webster says that “young” is to be “youthfully fresh in body or mind or feeling.” That’s the definition I like best and, at the risk of sounding immodest, I believe it describes me and the way I feel about life.

Emerson said, “We don’t count a man’s years until he has nothing else left to count.” I love the Old Testament hero, Caleb, who at age 85 asked that he be given the mountain top where the Philistines were. He believed he could get rid of them and stated that he felt as vigorous and healthy as he had at age 40. Apparently he was right, because there are no Philistines left.

Somebody once said that “a comfortable old age is the reward of a youth well-spent.” This ties into what psychiatrist Smiley Blanton says, “I have never seen a single case of senility in people, no matter how old, as long as they maintain an active interest in other human beings and in things outside of themselves.” Personally speaking and relying on other sources, I don’t go quite that far but I do believe that, for example, Alzheimer’s is a disease while senility, in many cases, is the direct result of a long series of wrong choices. Follow sensible health rules and exercise on a regular basis. Continue to learn new things and fill your mind with good, clean, pure, powerful thoughts all of your life, and I believe that senility can largely be avoided.

Think about it, and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!