December 8, 2015 (Tuesday)
I heard an old song that made its way into a TV Commercial recently and the same song appeared in a TV Show later that night. The song? “You Make Me Feel So Young.”
The words of the song seem to say that being head over heels in love makes a person feel young. It probably does.
But there’s something about us that adjusts our perceived age. Until we are 25 to 30, we adjust our felt age upward. After crossing that threshold, we start feeling younger than we actually are. By the time a person reaches 71, he or she feels like 57. Evidently, that gap begins to close after that. Nevertheless, many people in their 80’s feel younger than they are.
A physician who specializes in age awareness says that much of how old we feel is up to us, in the way we think about it.
It’s not hard to find material on the web that suggests activities that can help make us feel young. For instance, “Eat some cotton candy.” Or, “Visit a nearby city you’ve never been to before.” How about, “Read the newspaper comic strips.” Silly stuff? Maybe, but why not try?
Perhaps more practical suggestions would be to interact with people as much as possible. Be active in a group of people, like your church, but also in other groups, such as quilting parties, volunteering to help people, etc. For instance, Wanda’s aunt was in her 90’s when I tried to contact her by phone, only to find out she was out delivering “meals on wheels,” and had even cooked some of the menu items.
When people reach 100, they are asked what they did to live so long, and the answers are many and varied. Perhaps it goes back to what the expert said, “It’s all in how you feel about it.”
Back to the song, “You make me feel so young.” If you know of anything or anyone that helps you feels younger, stronger, and more alive and active, then by all means take advantage of that.
Sooner or later, however, we will have to cross the finish line and admit that our race is over. Are you prepared to meet God? What a day that will be.