Anti-aging secret discovered.... for me at least.

In the last few weeks, I have come to one of those realizations in life that should be so obvious that when you finally wake up to it, it is a "duh" moment. And that moment was when I discovered what I think for me is the secret to never getting old. Oh yeah, we have to grow "older" in a chronological sense, but we don't really have to grow old in a mental and to a large extent, physical, sense. Sure, regular exercise, both physical and mental is key, but there is more to that. The secret, I think, is never, ever, give up doing the things you love to do. And to add to that, keep adding to those things you love to do. Find your passions and keep them alive. Even if those passions were things that you found when you were a kid, keep doing them.

At a recent graduation party, I was talking with a young man who said to me the best thing I could ever hear. He said, "You are my hero. I want to live my life the same way you do. I never want to stop doing what I love to do, no matter what age I am." Wow. Yeah, I might be his hero, but that guy is my inspiration! It was then that I began to look around at myself and others, and came to the realization that so many of us have passions that we hold dear, but all too often, those passions get squelched by the responsibilities of life, work, and family. I came to realize that, while unnoticed before, so many people I know say the words, "I used to love to do...., but I don't/can't/won't anymore." Why? I am sure there are many good reasons why they don't do those things they are passionate about. But it seems to me that those reasons become excuses and those people seem to get old really fast. Lose your passions, lose your youth is what it says to me. A great friend of mine, one of my best, is going down this road. Gone from being someone who was always up for doing what he enjoyed to being someone who can find any easy excuse to not to. And I can see age creeping in on him and it makes me sad. And I see it in many people I know. They sit around and talk about their passions rather than act on or live them. They talk of them in the past tense. I will not be one of them.

I fully expect to be running through the woods shooting my grandchildren with paint-ball guns. I fully expect to be gaming with the next 2 or 3 generations of gamers. I will continue to involve myself in historical reenacting and still taking my wife out on the dance floor while others only watch. My wife and I will continue to ride our motorcycles until we need new ones, and then we will ride them some more! Someday I will know more about wine than anyone else I know. And I will find new passions. I will keep all of my passions alive and encourage my family to do the same, for to do any different would be to give up and become old.

I will not give up. I will get older, but I will not get old.

Later!

I shot a Frenchman at Agincourt!

Quick as a quiver, an arrow is in his liver!!!


This was too good not to share.

later!