Aging Healthily, Happily and Youthfully

By Anna Cook –

It’s time to move yourself out of any ruts you may have fallen into over the years so you can open up new horizons, you can dream new dreams, you can achieve serenity and above all you can create new and increased enthusiasm for the future… you can discover your personal Fountain of Youth to enjoy your aging process as healthily, happily and youthfully as you want it to be…

This is the marketing blurb we use to introduce you to what we are all about, but what does it mean?  This famous fountain of youth – what is it?

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The dictionary definition is “a fountain mentioned in folk tales as capable of making people young again.”

It is a fabled spring whose waters were supposed to restore health and youth, sought in the Bahamas and Florida by Ponce de León, Narváez, De Soto, and others. In fact the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León discovered Florida while searching for it.  For thousands of years it has been talked and written about – Heroditus, The Alexander Romance, Prester John –along with such things as the philosopher’s stone, universal panaceas and the elixir of life. More recent searchers are Indiana Jones with a Fountain of Youth game,  along with Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz in the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean. Personally, the thought of searching for anything in the company of Johnny Depp makes me youthful, let alone finding the actual fountain!

Where things have changed over the years (and in Western culture) is the emphasis has become more on youthful looks, pretty much forgetting health, happiness and fulfillment.

So when searching for the fountain of youth, first you need to decide what it really means for you….

Countless plastic surgeons, beauty clinics and “miracle workers” cite it in their publicity… see my own example above. Yes, for some the fountain of youth really is just flawless physical looks, remove the wrinkles, get rid of the fat, and pop some pills… None of that is wrong if that is what makes you happy, however that is just it – does that alone make you happy? What is youth?  A number of years? How you look? How you feel? Your outlook on life?

For me, the meaning of the “Fountain of Youth” is a personally chosen combination to achieve maximum individual happiness and energy from balancing your life based on the list above. Everyone will have different priorities, a slightly different focus on what is more important for them.

Psychologically, there are six basic human needs in life (Dr. CloeMadanes) which are:

1. CERTAINTY – Certainty that we can be comfortable – to have pleasure and avoid pain. (Comfort, security, safety, stability, feeling grounded predictability and protection).

2. UNCERTAINTY/VARIETY – Variety and challenges that exercise our emotional and physical range. Our bodies, our minds, our emotional well-being all require uncertainty, exercise, suspense, variety and surprise. (Instability, change, entertainment, suspense, exertion and surprise).

3. SIGNIFICANCE – Every person needs to feel special, important, needed and wanted. (Pride, importance, achievement, performance, perfection, evaluation, discipline and competition).

4. CONNECTION/LOVE – Everyone needs Connection with other human beings, and everyone strives for and hopes for Love. (Togetherness, passion, unity, warmth, tenderness and romance).

5. GROWTH – Everything is either growing or dying. We need to constantly develop emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.

6. CONTRIBUTION – We all desire to go beyond our own needs and give to others. Everything in the universe contributes beyond itself or is eliminated.

Physically and healthily – we all feel better by being active, supple, mobile, exercising regularly and having boundless energy which comes from exercise as well as health and good nutrition.

I love walking not just for the physical aspect of staying fit and healthy but also for the relaxation, emotional mood boost and mental clarity it gives. I am a firm believer that you can walkyourwaytoYouth!

As with all things you need balance between the physical (health) and psychological (mental/emotional) for best results…

Create your personal image of what the Fountain of Youth means for you. Focusing on the priorities and refining the model from which to develop your own fountain becomes a great and ever more fulfilling pleasure which dramatically increases your zest for life.

Think about it, write it down, have goals, dream dreams, create images; visualize yourself and what makes you feel most alive. Don’t be afraid of being outrageous… this is your life and your fountain!

Happiness, love, energy, curiosity, desire, interest, fulfillment are all fundamentals to a satisfying and empowering inner radiance. Your inner radiance develops your outer vitality! How’s that for a Fountain of Youth?

 

Anna Cook anna@annaletitiacook.comhttp://annaletitiacook.com

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Aging Healthily, Happily and Youthfully
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