Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter

Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.  We grow old by deserting our ideals.  Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.  ~Samuel Ullman

Storyline:

Many times, we hear people say, "I wish I could do that, but now I am too old." Here are some real life stories of some people that will inspire you to think otherwise.

• Michelangelo, Renaissance period Italian, creator of the statue of David, the painter of the world famous Scenes of Genesis and The Last Judgment, was 71 years-old when he designed the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.


• Giuseppe Verdi, a great composer of romantic operas, created one of his greatest works, Falstaff in 1893 at the age of 80.


• George Bernard Shaw, the famous English playwright, who won the Nobel Prize in literature and an Academy Award for adapted screenplay, “Pygmalion”, completed his last work, “Buoyant Billions” in his 90s.


• Jimmy Carter, a science graduate, a farm owner, who later became the 39th President of the United States, devoted his time after the Presidency to serve worthy causes around the world. In 2002, at the age of 78, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He is a prolific author; and 12 of his 20 books have been published after the age of 70. At 82, he is still serving people and writing books.


• My maternal grandmother was 65 years old when my grandfather passed away. She went back to school and got her first Bachelor’s degree. After that she tried for a Master’s degree in English Literature and failed twice. As a young child my memory of her was that she used to study hard, often late nights, constantly worrying about grades; and on the two occasions when she flunked, she was in tears and needed a lot of consoling by family and friends.
  
  She believed that to go after your dream and fail is never a failure, but to have a dream and not go after it is the ultimate failure.

Reflection: at 55

As the years progress, I have made it a habit not to let a day or a phone call go by without telling my family members that I love them. So, the other day when I got three consecutive phone calls from my wife, son and daughter, I made sure that I ended each call with an "I love you" message. It so happened that the call that immediately followed the first three was from my insurance agent. While finishing the call, the rhythm followed and I subconsciously told him "I Love You" and hung up.

A minute later the phone rang again. It was my insurance agent. He seemed elated "I hope you meant it. In my entire 30 years career, no customer has ever told me that he loved me."  Now consciously realizing what I had done, and relieved that it was not misinterpreted, I thanked him for his service.

In the same spirit, if I have ever told any of you "I love you" while finishing our conversations, you can be rest assured that it was meant in a good spirit. After all I love all people who have encouraged me through the years and have been instrumental in my success.

A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.  ~John Barrymore

Comments

[Roger]

I thought I would share some words of wisdom from your favorite President Ronald Reagan:

" Thomas Jefferson once said, 'We should never judge a president by his age, only by his works' And ever since he told me that, I stopped worrying."

[Elly]

You're going to laugh, but I'm 30 and did the same thing this week. Just off a call from my husband, who I always finish speaking to with "Love you!", my colleague called me... I was a little distracted towards the end of the call by an email that arrived in, and tried to finish off the call with "Love you".

He burst into laughter, and said "I knew this day would come!". Luckily he's a good sport and took it in good humour.

[Jeff]

As I once read, age only tells how long you've been on the road, not how far you've come. :)

[Curious from overseas]

I am confused. thomas Jefferson was the second president of USA almost 400 years before ronald reagan. How can they talk to each other? I think there is some American Joke here. Correct?

[Ana]

we love you too Anand :) you are making a difference in this world by being generous in sharing these reflections, hoping to improve lives of people :)

[Avi]

It's a joke Reagan once told in a self-deprecating style of humor, probably to counter criticisms of his age at the time. It's a subtle, humorous way of telling people not to worry so much about the issue of age.

[Curious from overseas]

Thanks Avi for clarification on ronald reagan joke. Now I understand