How to Stay Young

The following great list of things to do to stay young has been in my files for a long, long time. I lost the source, if I ever had it, so if you know who originated this, let me know, and please accept my apologies for not acknowledging you...

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height (especially weight!). Let the doctor worry about them. That is why you pay him/her.

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. " An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things. Walks in the fall leaves, a glass of wine or cider shared with friends, a warm fire and a rain-proof home; these are some of the best things of fall. Find someone and enjoy them together.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. Call a friend who always makes you laugh, and make a plan to get together soon.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

Life is not measured by the number
of breaths we take,
but by the moments
that take our breath away.

-Anon.