An expat offers some suggestions for staying young without reservation

By Barbara Brosco

Let’s be honest! No one wants to get old. Yet, days go by, years roll along, and the next thing you know, right along with everyone else your age, you have arrived! The aging process sneaks upon us like a thief in the night, and if we live long enough to experience it, we are guaranteed to see “old age.”

What can we do to ward off the impending process? Doing everything you can to stay young is no easy task, especially, after you advance into your 50’s and 60’s and beyond. Gravity and the aging process is working against us and it gets harder to not only look young, but to feel young. But it is actually how you feel on the inside that really can make a difference on how we act as we age.

As we approach our 70’s and 80’s life doesn’t seem that much fun anymore. You have seen it all, done it all and been everywhere you’ve wanted to travel. By now, life seems to be getting pretty stagnant and boring. You find yourself saying such things as, “I’m not getting any younger” and “I’m feeling pretty old these days.” That may be a biological truism, however, there are ways to stave off aging and stay young forever, without reservations.

Here are a few suggestions that can keep the fountain of youth flowing from the inside-out.

• Romance The Stars:  Take your favorite partner or friend and folding chair outside to watch the stars. If possible, build an outdoor fire, while watching the shooting stars and the moon. Thank God for the beauty of the Universe while sipping your favorite beverage. Ah, what a beautiful feeling!
• Go to a Soccer or Football Game: Doesn’t matter what your age, you are bound to get caught up in the passion, excitement and gaiety of the game and the crowd. In Cuenca, you can become a fan of the “Southern Express.” Nothing is more contagious than young adults caught up in the passion of their games. Watching and listening to the happiness that surrounds you will bring a deep, warm glow to your heart and rekindle that youthful spirit within.
• Make Friends with Someone 10 or 20 Years Younger: Go out of your way to make friends with someone younger than you! Enjoy their energy, passion, and youthful ambition, along with their sense of adventure. Make a date for lunch once a month so you have something to look forward to. Remember, they can use your insights and experience as much as you can tap into the surge of energy they bring to the relationship.
• Make A Date with Someone Dear to You: Make a date with your spouse or someone special. Take them to a place that once made you sparkle and feel fulfilled. Those precious feelings will come flooding back you can enjoy them all over and over again.
• Stay up-to-Date: Be your Best. Do your Best.  As time passes, we often get comfortable, and even lazy at times.  By checking our wardrobe, now and then, is necessary as we become too reliant on the old gray sweat clothes that hang in our closet.  Stay up-to-date by adding a couple new, trendy wardrobe pieces that can update your outfits, taking away the “old” person look.  It will  help you look and feel younger.  Routine of same clothing everyday can lull us into drudgery.  You will feel better, more motivated, and will not look outdated.
• Grow Old gracefully Without the Gray: There are many aging folks who look extremely good with gray.  However, if you are not one of them, gray only ages most people and makes them feel older.  Men and Women alike can make a date with your hairdresser and, “Swear-off” gray.  Dye your hair a complementary color to match your skin tone and leave the “gray” for others.  Wear light, bright, clear monochromatic colors.  The clear colors look more youthful as a rule and softens wrinkles.
• Bring Someone home to love: Get yourself a pet. Many rescue missions offer help with adoptions of dogs and cats, bit and small. Bring home a kitten, a dog, a rabbit, a guinea pig, or a bird. They are loveable and wanting love as much as you do. Giving them love makes any one feel younger and needed.
• Have a Dream: Dreams inspire us, give us hope, and bring excitement to our lives. We all have dreams at one time in lives. Have you forgotten yours?  Maybe you have fulfilled them. Either way, it’s time to dream a new dream. Even the smallest dreams will make you feel younger and provide more energy. We all need something to look forward too.  Let’s face it, life without dreams is dull.

Staying young without reservation is a mind-set. We spent one-half of our life trying to grow up and get older.  Now we will need to work as hard at staying young as we can without reservation. All we really want is to stretch out our life as long as possible. These ideas might be the catalyst that gets you started to discover your own ideas that will ignite your fuel for staying young without reservation no matter what age.
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Barbara Brosco is originally from Alameda County, California and has lived in Cuenca for 15 years.