Aging Reverse

May 5, 2014.

When I was still in my early 20s, my dad would tell me not to wear a hat too often, as I might lose my hair faster.  He'd also encourage me to not put too much "product" in my hair for the same reason.  He may have been right, or I might just be lucky, who knows.  My mother would often chastise me for cracking my knuckles.  "You'll have bad arthritis later on if you keep doing that," she'd warn, and I eventually listened.  And I certainly heard enough stories about health scares and the like to keep me aware of the fact that I needed to lose weight before I got too used to being a certain size. 

I don't consciously try to look younger than I am, but I do very consciously stay aware of how I'm doing, and a healthy diet and exercise routine has helped me immensely too.  No, I'm not so delusional as to think I can still pass for a teenager, but I'll occasionally pass for a 28-year-old, and that'll do!  The picture I've attached to this blog was taken this past weekend, as I celebrated my 39th birthday.  I think if you showed me this picture when I turned 30 or even 35, I'd be astonished, not just for the weight loss (I've dropped about 40 pounds), but in general just because of my overall look.  Now my ego easily flies off the handle, so I have to turn this around quickly now and say...

We can all reverse the so-called aging process.  Sleep more, eat better, exercise, and most importantly, be joyful!  Life is great!  Stress and anxiety will gray your hair faster, and sadness and hatred will age you all over!  Optimism and happiness are proven ingredients in the reverse-aging process.  No, we cannot change nature, or stop the natural aging we'll all experience.  We cannot stop horrible events from coming into our lives, bringing more stress and sadness than we can manage.  But if you truly wish to stay looking and feeling young, you need to pay attention to how you treat your body and your mind. 

I'm no Benjamin Button, and I'm clearly no Brad Pitt either!  But I believe the small, gentle ways I've taken care of my soul, my mind, and my body in the past few years are crucial reasons why I feel so healthy: healthy in body, healthy in mind, and healthy in soul.  I'm far from perfect.  I mess up quite a lot.  But when I do mess up, I own what I did wrong, and I over-analyze the situation.  I learn from the experience, and I make sure the manure that came into my life from the mess-up will help fertilize a better me.  It may not be the only way to stay young, and it may not be the only way to slow down the aging process, but this optimism and joy has helped me remain a happier human being. 

I feel like that's working for me.  And I feel like it would work for you too.  You cannot change it all overnight, but you can incrementally add steps to make things better.  Progress, not perfection.  I could spend pages and pages talking about all the things I've done wrong, and how I cannot undo those wrongs for as long as I will live, but instead I focus on positivity and inspiration.  It keeps me happy, and my aim is to try my best to inspire others, and make others happy. 

This is the 12th step.  It's the part of us that gives back once we learn how far we've come.  It's the part of us that refuses to allow the imperfection of the past to continue to cloud the beautiful day we walk through today.  We cannot stop the hard winters from hurting us, but we can always believe in the warm summers ahead.  It's this kind of optimism that will keep us moving forward with grace, and always help us feel younger than our mathematical years.