Stay Young At Heart
The late Bernard Baruch who, in his late eighties, and still advising former US presidents, was once asked how old he thought ‘old’ was. He replied, “old is fifteen older than I am.”
That thought occurred to me the other day as I was standing in line at the cash desk, waiting to pay for a bottle of wine. There was an attractive, younger woman ahead of me buying a bottle as well.
As she was taking the money out of her purse, the cashier politely asked her for identification, thinking that she might be under age. In Ontario you have to be at least 19 years of age to purchase wine or liquor.
“I hope you don’t think I’m being personal,” he said. “It’s the law.”
Now, I’m not good at guessing ages but she didn’t look anymore than 35 to me. From my vantage point she is just getting started.
Her face immediately lit up. Laughing, as she handed over her ID card, she replied, “Mind. Are you kidding? I’m flattered. The way my week’s going, I feel like I’m 40.”
She’s not alone. At some point we all reach an invisible, or not so invisible wall, where we begin to feel that that we are getting old. Or think we are. Especially in this day and age.
The truth is though, aging doesn’t happen at any given hour or day or decade. The process is not biologically set in stone. It’s all about continuing to learn and grow and being willing to adapt to change.
We all have a choice. It is a personal decision. We all age, of course, but we can decide to get old – or older. It’s a mindset. We can’t stop the clock, but we can remain young at heart.
So here’s a question for you:
If you didn’t know how how old you were, what age would you be?
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