It is not possible to reverse the age, but the zest for life can keep a person young all the time. For this purpose, the mind should be engaged in positive thinking. Since the mind and body are interrelated, activities of the mind influence the body and vice versa. As the body grows older, if the mind also thinks that it is getting older, then the person would undoubtedly age faster. However, the mind can remain young. With the passage of time, the mind possesses a wealth of experience; it is more active and is full of good ideas. The energy of the mind thus has the ability to rejuvenate the body that is getting older. When we consider an implement or a weapon to be useless and stop using it, that weapon gradually loses its ability; and rusts with time and eventually stops working completely. On the contrary, when we use a particular instrument continuously over the years, it can prove to be more useful and valuable than a newer tool. It will have the ability to accomplish all our tasks. This is exactly how our life works.
If we always keep our body active, think positively, engage in creative jobs, then this very activity makes us valuable to society and keeps us young at heart. In society today, there is an increasing percentage of people who are keen on looking ‘Fit and Fine.’ There is an inherent desire in each one of us to win the battle against time and look young. So, it is no wonder that the fitness industry is growing at a rate of 19% per annum. Not just health, people of all ages are very watchful of their body image because it is an indicator of their age. If we can successfully mask the age of the body, then nobody will call us old. We can see many older people who look so fit that it is almost impossible to guess their actual age. However, this ‘Fitness Revolution’ applies only to a limited populace living in metros and cities. There is a significant population in our country who consider old age as the fag end of life where everything meaningful comes to a standstill and that they merely have to carry the burden of the body while living a life dependent on others. They also think that they should focus their mind only on worship, rituals, or anything religious. A psychology professor, Elissa Epel, from the University of California, is doing research on correlating lifestyle and age. According to her, if a person wants a better life, then one should incorporate certain changes in one’s lifestyle that help in fitness. Life is all about adapting to changes that keep coming in our way, and staying fit helps us in handling those changes. According to psychologists – ‘If you love yourself and apply the principle of ‘Live and let live’ in your life, then you will neither be worried about your responsibilities nor the increasing age because your entire focus will be on your lifestyle.’
The harsh reality of today is that the families are shrinking, and the sad feature of such families is that each member lives in his own world. And even in this, the world of the elderly is very different. We often see a large number of older people at home or seated in parks all alone. The primary reason why they are lonely is that they are old, weak, and probably sick and hence are not capable of doing any work. Psychologists say that if the mind believes that it is old and cannot do anything, then the person definitely becomes accordingly. We can often read the sadness on the face of the elderly. It speaks volumes about how retiring from work has cast them out of the race of life. What do we do after retirement? Planning for this commences right from the age of 30 years itself nowadays. Indeed, retirement does not change the abilities and capabilities of a person. This is why in other countries, retired personnel are hired again based on their experience and expertise. This trend is slowly being seen in few places in India too, but its pace is not very encouraging because retirement is perceived to be linked with a person’s ability here.
It is worth mentioning that a Japanese cosmetics company Pola Inc. actively hired senior citizens into their workforce. Women aged 70 – 100 years work in this company. The company believes that the employees perform better and provide better services to the clients owing to their experience. The happiness beaming across the face, the sparkle in the eyes are what make a person young, and when a positive attitude reigns in mind, there is no shortage of enthusiasm. That is why, let us not worry about age, we just have to ensure that we do not lose the smile on our face and passion of the mind. If someone reminisces and thinks that his life was better when he was younger and old age is not good, then such thoughts are bound to create disappointment about present life. Each and every phase of life has its pros and cons, which is why no stage is neither good nor bad. In fact, we can make it good or bad based on our perspective and mindset. If the face radiates happiness, the inner being exudes enthusiasm towards life, and a smile adorns the lips, then even an old face can look beautiful and young. On the other hand, if there are passiveness, despair, and disappointment, even the face of a young person will begin to look ugly. Beauty should grow with age because zest for life is what really keeps us young.
source: Akhand Jyoti Magazine -March-April