In order to be young when older, one simply has to create and maintain youthful energy. Youthful energy can be created in the mind, but it is by far easier to create it in the body and let the heart move this energy to the mind and beyond.
Youthful energy is powerful and intense, irrationally happy, impulsive, super positive, contagious, a magnet for happy people, carb consuming, and life preserving.
Most young people possess this in their minds and they can sit in a chair for three days straight and feel little ill effects. But for us older folk, three days in a chair or in front of the computer stiffens and drains us, and adds years to our age.
The mind-body connection is not well appreciated and too many think they can ignore the physical and simply concentrate on work or TV. We are conditioned and it is accepted to ignore your body and kowtow to the mass contentions. Excuses are more respected: “Too much work, no time”, “Old people are supposed to relax and take it easy”, “Act your Age!”. We are programmed with a sense of entitlement. We believe life is better when it is easier. Why walk when you can drive, take the elevator not the stairs, bicycles are for people with DUI’s, faster phones, faster connections, faster friends, faster lives.
But it doesn’t work - it is not sustainable. Sure it’s good for retail business and making money, but is that more important than your health and true happiness? Is life really about buying heaps of plastic garbage or getting that new hot ultra-fast gadget in order to bring a modicum of fleeting joy to your apathetic existence?
The solution is just too simple - all you have to do is move. Move your body, ride a bike, go for a hard walk, do some yoga, just move. The older we get the more important it is to spend time every day moving. At 40, a person can get away with 20 minutes every day, at 50 it takes 45 minutes, at 60 or more, an hour. As we age our bodies atrophy much faster and heal more slowly.
Those that take the time to move and exercise learn and experience the incredible truth about the circle of energy. It has to do with the premise that in life you get what you give. Taking that hour away from work or your evening TV and doing some significant movement gives you more energy back. You sleep better, you wake up refreshed, you work better, you are happier. You may find that you can more appreciate some of the simpler pleasures in life. Time slows a bit, food tastes better, colors are more vivid, you’re not in such a rush, and you can listen to your friends and lovers with more intensity. You have discovered youthful energy.
It starts with a yoga class, or a walk up a steep hill, or a ride on a bike where you push hard enough that your heart starts pounding. It takes time also, so be patient. You have to convince your body and your programmed mind that this change is important. Once it becomes you, it’s easy to justify the time.
Youthful energy attracts youthful energy, no matter what the age. It enables active connections that produce more creativity and real friendships. Just do it!
