-
Youth
Youth
the deep
springs of life.
deserting
our ideals.
is not a time
of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter
of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple
knees; it is a matter of
the will, a
quality of the imagination, a vigor of the
emotions; it is the freshness of
Youth
means
a
temperamental
predominance
of
courage
over
timidity,
of
the
appetite for adventure over the love of
ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more
than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old
merely by a number of years. We grow old by
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give
up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry,
fear, self-distrust bows the heart and
turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every
human being’s heart the lure of wonders,
the unfailing appetite f
or
what’s next and the joy of the game of living. In
the center
of your heart and my heart,
there is a wireless station; so long as it
receives messages
of beauty, hope,
courage and power from man and from the infinite,
so long as you
are young.
When your aerials are down, and your
spirit is covered with snows of cynicism
and
the
ice
of
pessimism,
then
you’ve
grown
old,
even
at
20;
but
as
long
as
your
aerials are up, to catch waves of
optimism, there’s hope you may die young at 80.