What Keeps You Young?

DEP EP38

 

 

What Keeps You Young?

I don’t mean, “What keeps the wrinkles at bay?” Or, “How do I stop time from turning me into my parents?” Or, “How do I keep my knees from creaking?” No, friends. I mean…what do you do to keep your soul, your inner-being, and your mindset young? This process of maintaining a youthful spirit must be different for everyone. So this week I asked 12 people, “What keeps you young?” and this is what they shared with me:

 Vicki, age 59: Well, besides spending time with my daughter I’d like to say my love of music and concerts keeps me young. Hey, you think I’m young???

Kaitlyn, age 28: What keeps me feeling young from a physical standpoint in keeping my body in shape. From an emotional standpoint, I find humor in things. There is nothing like laughing. Just make sure you do it secretly when it’s not appropriate! Also, make sure you have fun with your younger loved ones. They’ll bring the child out in you sometimes.

Matt, age 36: Any time I play a game I feel like a kid. Board games, video games, and even the games my son and I make up…like throwing him into the air onto the couch. I don’t know why, but we call it “ribbit”. His belly laughs give me a feeling I didn’t know existed. Like pure joy.

Also, being in the same room as my mother. She always makes me feel like a child…but I don’t feel youthful then LOL.

Emily, age 28: Playing with the kids and not just watching them play. I’m usually the only mom at the playground actually playing with my kids.

Carol, age 63: I like to work with my hands. For instance, making cookies. It might seem “old lady-like” to bake but it’s the opposite for me. It reminds me of my mom teaching me to bake when I could barely see over the counter.

Jenna, age 49: Bike rides! As a kid, the wind in my hair when I would go down a hill reminded me of flying. That feeling hasn’t changed as an adult. However, I’m glad I have the wisdom to wear helmets now.

Norm, age 68: My three-season room in my get-away and I bring my grandson with me. I have colorful lights installed throughout the whole room and we jam to classic rock, today’s hits, and even some country! Working in my yard and making it an oasis for wildlife is something I have loved doing since becoming a homeowner. I have multiple security cameras and you wouldn’t believe the amount of birds, squirrels, deer, foxes, and raccoons that visit!

Above all, my grandson brings me a happiness I had no idea existed until he was born. I don’t always feel young but these things certainly help.

Deanna, age 28: Pretty much anything I do for fun, especially with my son, makes me feel young. Crafting, yard work, playing games with my son, watching kid movies, dancing, (off-key) singing, making friendship bracelets (definitely reminds me of the late-90’s), and even playing with make-up.

Jon, age 37: I like my “big toys”. We live on the waterfront so anything I can involve with our family boat makes us all feel young. Not to mention our 4-wheeler! We have three greats kids. Spending time together doesn’t just make us a closer and stronger family…it makes us a memorable family!

Julie, age 58: Just like my so many, exercise is key to keeping me young. Not just because it keeps me in shape. When I workout I feel like I can cope and manage stress better. I’m happy I was able to pass that along to my son, as we both work in the fitness industry now.

Michele, age 59: Something about gift-giving brings me child-like happiness. Not just gifting material things, though I do love that. I love cooking for others. I have so many memories of my mom feeding me and my three siblings. Food helped bring us together. And let’s not forget my grandson. It’s like seeing the world for the first time when I watch him play int he sandbox or run through the sprinkler. I think most of us can agree that raising kids can age you and keep you young at the same time.

Casey, age 29: Exercise and sports has kept me young mentally and physically. And music too! Certain songs make me think of a time when I was younger. The enjoyment from certain songs has so many memories attached to them.

I’ve heard people joke about “the fountain of youth” but I really think it exists. Not some beautiful
Buckingham-style-fountain bursting with instagram-worthy shots. Youth is not something you can hold in your hand but rather something you feel. I believe youth continues to exist in the actions we take and the memories we make.

What keeps you young?

Be Childlike

What Keeps You Young?

FULL TRANSCRIPT. (The following is the full transcript of this episode of The Be Seen and Heard Journey. Please note that this episode, like all BSH Journey episodes, features Victor speaking extemporaneously–he is unscripted and unedited.)

Hey it’s Victor, welcome to the Be Seen and Heard© Journey. Thank you so much for being with me today. I’m in an amazing mood. You know why? Cause I’m wearing one of my favorite shirts and I’ll explain that in a second. Whether you’re watching this video or listening to the podcast or reading this amazing blog. I want to say thank you for joining me today at childhood victories.

We’re all about helping keep our children safe and a lot of our posts and videos are very serious. And this week I wanted to just kind of, I don’t know, let it loose a little bit and ask this question. What keeps you young? And I think it’s important to answer that question because as we get older and as you know, the complexities of the world and the stress, it’s always going to be there.

But we can refocus and change our view sometimes.

And I love it. I love it. When I was a child, I used to dress up as Superman as a little boy. I had what was called under roos and I would wear them around the house, jumping from bed to bed and even to be more transparent than that…Yes, I stole from my mom’s jewelry box. The bracelets that reminded me and looked like wonder woman. What she would wear when she would be shot at, she would like fly to deflect the bullets.

That’s what I would do.

I would dress up as wonder woman as well and fly around in my invisible plane. This is crazy. I’m cracking up right now, but that’s what helped me be a child. I loved it. And then as I got older and those movies came out on TV years and years and years ago, I wouldn’t watch them because I’m an adult and I was kind of moving away from that. You know, I’m a grown-up now, but my kids, my beautiful children remind me every day that it’s okay to be a kid.

It’s okay to not grow up sometimes and it’s okay to focus on what keeps us young now. What keeps me young now is to go to these movies that have come out in the last 10-15 years, these Marvel movies and these DC comic movies. And I go with my kids and I feel so young again. It’s so important. And then also I get the answer to this question, who do I want to be a hero to as I get older?

And that answer is simple.

It’s so simple. It’s my kids want to be a hero to them and I also want to be a hero to the kids that I see at school because maybe that one day that they see me present, maybe they’re connecting to my story. And so what keeps me young doing this keeps me on being able to share my messages and being able to sing a little bit and to get out there and to go outside and play catch with my son, to go outside and take a walk or get on my bike today and take a bike ride. It brings me back to when I was a kid.

I’m going to say this and I think it’s really important and it’s the lesson today.

We can continue to get older, which we have no choice. We’re going to get older, but you don’t have to stay focused on all of the stress and all of the craziness the world brings us. And so I say, keep creating, keep doing the things that keep you young because I think that’s the secret to a long life. And with that being said, thank you so much for watching the video. Please share this with your family and friends and remember, no matter how old we are, we all deserve to be seen and heard. Have a great day. Talk to you soon.