On Staying Young

“Youth 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 the deep springs of life.

“Youth means the predominance of courage over timidity, of adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than in a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

“Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair－these bow the heart and turn the spirit back to dust.

“Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the love of wonder, the sweet amazement at the stars and the star-like things, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing child-like appetite for what-next, and the joy of the game of living.

“You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.
















青春永駐之道

青春不是人生的一個階段，它是一種心理狀態，它不僅僅在於紅潤的雙頰、、盈紅的雙唇以及柔軟的姿態。青春是一個人的心理狀態、意志氣質、想像能力、情感活力，從生命潛流中湧發的一種清新感覺。

青春是一種凌駕一切的意志力量，有了它便可以有克服怯懦的勇氣、不貪罔安樂、敢於冒險氾難。這種力量的表現，有時候五十歲的人反而比二十歲的青年更豐富。一個人的衰老，不在於他度過了幾多歲月，而是由於他漸漸放棄了理想。

歲月只能使我們的皮膚起皺紋，可是一個人如果喪失熱忱，那麼他的性靈也跟著收縮了。憂愁、疑慮、自餒、畏懼、灰心等消極的情緒，這些都會使內心盡瘁，使性靈蒙塵。

不論你是六十歲或十六歲，每個人都應愛好神奇的事物，仰望星辰，或看到像星辰那樣閃爍光芒的思想和事物，會產生一種甘美的驚喜；對事物的挑戰無所畏懼，以小孩般永不衰退的興致去接納未來；也有參與人生競爭的樂趣。

只要你有信念便是年輕；反之，有疑慮便是年老：能自信便是年輕，有畏懼便是年老；有希望便是年輕，絕望了便是年老。