7 Ways To Look and Feel Younger

I will soon be 55 years old.  Is that old?  I just can't seem to grasp it.  Do I look it?  I don't think so but nobody my age thinks they look it.  Certainly no one wants to look any older than they have to.  Here are a few things I have learned about looking and feeling younger.

1. Exercise.  Years ago I read an article in Reader's Digest and the author said that if there is really a fountain of youth it is exercise.  I was swimming in the mornings at Gold's Gym for awhile and there were two men who swam at the same time.  One was an older gentleman who was obviously in the pool because it was about all he could do.  He mostly just stood or walked slowly in the water.  After all, he was old!  The other was very fit walked with a bounce, was cheerful and friendly and a fabulous swimmer. While one was old and one was not I eventually realized they were about the same age.  There are so many reasons why we look younger if we exercise but the main reason is, at a cellular level, we are younger! 

2.  Observe old people.  Watch how they move, stand, their mannerisms and even how they dress and don't do that!

3. Take good care of your face.  Use a gentle cleanser at least every night, moisturize and exfoliate dead skin.  High quality products are a good investment.  I
avoid the perfumed products at the mall.  Currently I use Nuskin products and a galvanic spa.  I also like  Dermalogica and my friend Debby had me try Aloette and I liked it.  I asked my favorite skin expert, Bonnie Sermon, what she would recommend for those on a tighter budget and she said, "I recommend BASIS cleaning bar, and Eucerin facial quality spf, and I think most Eucerin is okay.  Avoid mineral oil, talc, fragrance. The most important thing for most faces is a gentle cleanse, maybe a little witch hazel astringent, and a spf moisturizer in the day and one free of spf for evening".

4. Take good care of the rest of your skin.  Always use a body lotion or oil after you shower and occasionally exfoliate.  Use a reasonable amount of sunscreen.  I don't regret my time in the sun but I sure wish I had used sunscreen a little more often.

5.  Lose weight.  If you have extra weight lose it.  Even losing a little will make you look and feel younger

6.  Smile. This one is offered by my friend Kacey.  I don't practice this too well but Kacey sure does and she is a pleasure to be around.

7. Try new things.  Learn to ski or golf or fish.  Take a class.  Try sushi or go to a rock concert.  Go crazy and sleep on the other side of the bed!  Whether you will like it or not is irrelevant, it's the willingness to try that will keep you young. 

"You know you’re old when you‘ve lost all your marvels." Merry Brown

Musings Part II The Retelling of An Old Story

"The noblest question in the world is, what good may I do in it?" -Benjamin Franklin

There is an old story that is often told.  It is about a boy (or an old man, depending on the version you've heard) and he is walking along the beach.  The beach is strewn with thousands of starfish which have washed ashore.  As he walks along he picks up starfish and throws them back to the water and to safety.  Someone asks the boy how he possibly hopes to make a difference when there are so many starfish on the beach.  As the boy throws a fish back he says, "It makes a difference to this one".

It is a good story as it stands but consider this:  maybe the fish is saved or maybe it is already dead.  Who could tell with a starfish?  Maybe it will just wash ashore again with the next tide.  Whatever the future of the starfish, the boy has BECOME something more because he made the effort to save a few starfish.

We go out in the world with the intent to make a difference.  Sometimes we do, sometimes we don't know if we have or not and sometimes we fail, but always we BECOME something more as we try.