“Life is not geared for age and deterioration. Actually, life is a dramatic process of renewal and regeneration.” —Eric Butterworth, In the Flow of Life
Isn’t “Aging Youthfully” what a lot of us are trying to accomplish? We want to avoid the stereotypical vision of “getting old”. We don’t want to become stooped over and shuffle along as we walk, head down and looking at the floor. Aging is stereotypically waking up in the morning with aches and pains, hard to get out of bed, very little to look forward to for the day except maybe a [another] doctor’s appointment.
Wouldn’t most of us rather get up feeling alive and alert, looking forward to the day ahead. We can, of course, with a little attention to our physical energy system and to the things that will keep us youthful and alive.
What are these things? We already know them. But I’ll let Eric Butterworth, author of the book In the Flow of Life describe it in his words from p. 139 of that terrific book:
“Contrary to the common human belief, we do not begin to slow down because we are becoming old. We are becoming old because we are slowing down. The cells of our bodies are like water in a river. Motion helps them to stay in the flow and thus to purify themselves. There are literally thousands of moping people who could renew their strength and youthfulness to say nothing of finding freedom from aches and pains, if they would simply stir themselves in mind and body, get into the flow in consciousness and ‘into the swim’ of activities. The wisdom of the world has conditioned us to ‘act our age.’ Now we must begin to act our youth—to act our experience in the flow of life.”
Our mental attitude toward life is a major component in the Aging Youthfully process. If we are pessimistic and negative, then we will show that in our outward appearance as well as in our internal feeling. We will become the negative stereotype that most of us want to avoid. If we are optimistic and positive, then we will maintain a open mind and youthful outlook on life. People will see that in us.
But the world has changed you say. How can I be positive when there is so much unrest around the world and our own country is in a state of turmoil. Not so fast. The world is no more dangerous than it was in the 1940s with the rise of Hitler and Japan, the destruction in Europe, and the attacks throughout Asia by Japan, ending in the attack on Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into World War II. Let’s see, we detonated two mass destruction weapons on Japan to end the war, and in the 1950s, we had to hide under our desks in grade school for fear of an Atomic bomb attack on the United States.
Yet we remained positive and patriotic. Fear is the problem, not the situation. We can change our attitude to reflect a positive outlook and not worry ourselves into old age.
When we look for the positive, when we move our bodies, when we nourish our bodies with the food that keeps us young and active, then we will have the physical energy to do the things young people do. With today’s youth, we may show our youthful actions more than they do.
“Life does not grow old. Life does not deteriorate. Life does not die. Life is an eternal, dynamic flowing process.” — Eric Butterworth
Stay active, stay young. It works if you work it.