Staying Young at Heart

Have you ever met someone who could be described as simply old? I don’t mean literally old because I know one particularly wild, mountain-climbing, sky-diving, motorcycle-riding seventy year old. By old I mean someone who acts old, like they’ve had the zest sucked out of their relatively young body.

This type of oldie is a lot of things, but fun is not one of them. He or she is rather uptight with no sense of humour, bland, and all together as adventurous as apple pie. Everything about the old-before-its-expiry-date person screams “elderly” from their carefully coiffed ‘do to their sensible loafers.

How did a once cute bubbly baby grow up to be such a lame adult? I think a miniscule number of people are actually born “old.” The rest just perhaps have become downtrodden and beaten by life’s disappointments, burdens, and obligations. Let’s face it—paying down a mortgage, raising kids, and perhaps spending your day doing a job you don’t like but pays the bills can take a toll on anybody.

Staying young at heart and reconnecting with the younger, funner you is all in your outlook on life. Here are a few easy things you can do to inject some much-needed fun into a dreary existence.

Soul Candy:

• If you haven’t taken a day off work in ages, phone in sick. I sometimes cut class in high school and remember how fun it was doing something you weren’t supposed to be doing. Even something mundane like hanging out at the mall or grabbing a burger was much more fun because it was during class time. Besides, studies show that North Americans are working themselves sick. Spend the day in your pyjamas and read trashy, non-educational magazines.
• Buy ice cream from the ice cream truck.
• Take a walk during your lunch break and pay attention to all the cool things you walk by everyday but miss because you are always too rushed to notice.
• Watch your favourite childhood cartoons and shows. Almost everything can be downloaded or rented nowadays.
• Bake cookies (and don’t feel guilty about eating them)!

Check out my handiwork.

• Dance, even if you have no rhythm. Cheesy songs form the 80’s or anything from Michael Jackson should do the trick.
• Stay up all night talking to someone who makes you feel good and then sleep in the next day.
• Go outside, blow bubbles, and then watch the rainbows float by.
• Take the time to take that class you always wanted, or set aside time for your hobbies.
• Go to the beach and make sand castles.
• Take a nice warm bubble bath.
• Sit outside and watch a rainstorm with a loved one.
• Go on a spontaneous road trip.

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