Fountain of Youth

Alas, youth, that ever elusive concept. As I have aged so gracefully, looking old has never been an issue for me. A few crinkles across the forehead are remedied by quick trip to Publix or Safeway and a request for paper over plastic from the pimply faced boy who has just crushed my bread. But woman over the age of thirty are seriously struggling over this issue.

Times have changes for all of us. It used to be that a baseball cap permanently affixed to a man's head was a symbol that you had reached retirement age . The AARP, would send, along with your card, a baseball cap with a logo worthy of their membership. Choices were simple, Men West of the Mississippi received a John Deere logo, East were presented with a Jack Daniels hat.

For men, the answer has always been simple, because men are simple. Find a girl over the age of eighteen who is dumb enough to go out with you under the illusion that you will spend some serious cash. hang out with her and her friends and through osmosis, you start acting and feeling young again. Never mind the snickering behind your back and the constant request to buy all the liquor based upon the crew's lack of money and requisite age. You have now become the cool guy that you would laugh at, remember him, played by Don Rickles in all the Beach movies.

Let's remind ourselves of the unwritten rule of age limit for dating when you pass 40: take your age, divide it in half and add seven. This guideline seems to be true and tested by many of my friends. What the hell else would you have to talk to with a twenty year old whose only memory of a President has been a Bush or Clinton. But we always justify our relationships with catch phrases such as "she's mature beyond her years" and "she is an old soul that gets me." The only subtitles I see when hearing this buzz is "look man, she sleeps with me and you're just jealous."The one thing that a man can always preserve in times of trouble is his class. Really, young people's music sucks, their piercings look painful, and their apathy about world and national events will not bode well when we are in nursing homes looking for the government to take care of us and we are relying on these folks to feed us and change our diaper.

As for women, I have an opportunity to speak to many of them during the course of the work week and when they tell me their age, I only sink inside when I realize we are born within a year or two apart and they look 20 years older. there is no legal requirement to cut that long hair and wear clothes that scream out I am old. But, then I realize it is not as superficial as what one looks like on the outside, it is what we radiate from within. We all age, but there is a direct corollary between how we look and the potential for living life that is being held back inside.Being older looking is a complete state of mind. If you feel that you are your last leg, you will look old. If you feel that life's adventure begins with every new day you will look like a person who is full of life. it will reflect in your attitude, the clothes you wear and the pride in every stride you take.

When I first walked into Mdme. C's office, I looked old. My soul was dead and I was on the edge of a coronary, stroke or total mental breakdown. Any angels, spirit guides, or other entities that compose that little voice we all here in times of great decisions were sitting on the sidelines because I had done the same to life. When I embraced my worth as a person and took my rightful position in the universe, I began to live again.There is no reason that any of us could not do the same. Embrace yourself and all your self worth and the universe will open to your soul. Manifesting what you want becomes part of your existence and possibilities are endless.

One good place to start is by looking at whoever is doing your hair. I didn't get that amazing curl naturally. There is not one person who works with hair who does not dress cool, have a funky hairdo that they have the confidence to wear outdoors, and isn't hip to the latest style. Maybe it's hours of inhaling ozone destroying fumes, but something is working for them.So let's unshackle ourselves from the negativity that those who don't get it try to hold us back with and live life like it was meant. With zeal, gusto, surrounded by friends and family who love us unconditionally and experiencing with all our senses and our soul,

So Sez Sax.....