When I was a child I knew that there was no such thing as age. That, in fact, people create age. When I saw my mother carrying on about being old (she was in her 40s at the time), I would tell her Mom, you don't have to be old. Of course, I was speaking into a void because my mother couldn't process that bit of information, along with the other tidbits of knowing I would pass along. You know - out of the mouths of babes...
Yet, I have always understood that people choose their age. Some embrace life and remain alive in curiosity and vibrant in discovery. They are interested in what lies around the next curve in the road and they stay young. Others (no matter the chronological age) are old, disinterested, and bored. These are the ones that dry up and wrinkle up and grow old earlier than need be.
Do you have a compelling interest, hobby, an idea to explore? That is how you stoke youthfulness. There are many examples of people who never let the fire within die or consider age a factor at all. They work on both side of the spectrum. Where do you stand in this scenario?
Here are some examples: Ted Williams slammed a home run in his last official time at bat. He was 42 at the time. Another baseball player, 20 year old Mickey Mantle, hit 23 home runs in his first full year in the major leagues, and this was before steriods. Then there was Golda Meir who became Prime Minister of Israel at age 71 and William Pitt II who became Prime Minister of Great Britain at age 24. George Bernard Shaw was 94 when one of his plays was first produced and Mozart was a youngster of seven when his first composition was published. And the topper is Benjamin Franklin who started out as a newspaper columnist at 16 and helped frame the United State Constitution at 81.
Consequently it is clear that age is irrelevant when you have a mission and you are never too young or old to express it. At 99, George Burns said that a happy life is all in having the right attitude and loving your work; getting up in the morning to something you want to do badly.
So there you have it. It is up to you. Are you willing to let cultural beliefs dictate what you can and cannot do or are you ready to set your own tone and do what you want to do leaving age out of the equation?
Jean Walters is a best selling writer and metaphysical/spiritual teacher. You can find her books on Amazon.com