Recovering from Youthitis

Another excerpt from The Age of Miracles



One day I looked at myself in the mirror and indulged in full-scale self pity. Oh….I remember when I was young, I thought. "My skin was tighter, my breasts were higher, my rear was firmer, my entire body was voluptuous, I had so much more energy, I glowed, I wish I realized what I had when I had it….now I'll never have it again."



Then there was another voice in my head that interviened that said "oh, SHUT UP!" Let me give you a run down of what it was really like when you were younger.

Your nerves were jangled.

Your heart was restless.

Your mind was disordered.

Your appetites were addictive.

Your love affairs were tragic.

Your talents were squandered.

Your opportunities were wasted.

And you were never at peace.



What you did then, in fact, is exactly what you are doing now. You kept thinking……that if only things were different you'd be happy. So then, it was what ever man or job or resources were there to save you. Now, it's…"if only you were still young."



So reality check…..in those days:

You looked good but didn't know it.

You had everything but you didn't appreciate it.

You had the world at your feet but you didn't realize it.



You know what it was like??? It was just like now!



And thus began my recovery from youthitis. I slip back into it every once in a while, but as time goes on, I snap out of it faster and faster. I realize it's nothing more than a mental habit to idealize another time, another condition, another reality, as simply a way to avoid the reality of my life right now. And in avoiding the reality of our present circumstances we avoid the miracles they offer. Everyone does it, because that's the way the ego mind works. But we can stare down this self-defeating habit and cultivate a truer perspective , that wherever we are is the perfect place, and whatever time it is now is the perfect time. That doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't improve things, particularly ourselves. But indulging the thought that if only we were younger things would be better is a sure fire way to age with pain.