Fortune Cookie Friday: Beautiful Souls

I didn’t get a chance to post this on my regular first Friday of January due to a family death. It’s been a crazy holiday season, and I am still recovering from the chaos. My family is a little sleep-deprived and frazzled, but we are managing well.

Age has a way of taking a toll on us. I don’t mean just because we will all depart this mortal coil, but how it wears us down and exposes our history.

All the scars, wrinkles, and gray hairs reveal a little about ourselves. We can try to cover them up, but those stories have shaped us, and they show through in our personality.

While looking through old photographs of my family, I noticed that we all aged over the years, but many of them still appeared young in my mind.

I don’t know if it is the smiles on their faces or the twinkle in their eyes, but if I were to try to draw my family members just from my memory, they would all be younger versions of themselves. It’s not because I thought they looked better at that age; it’s just how they appear or present themselves.

It’s as if the moment I met them, or they played a key role in my life, I engraved a version of them in my mind and heart.

I have the same perception of myself. I know I don’t look twenty-five or thirty. At 53, I have more lines and grays than I did as a kid, but I don’t always feel my age. I still feel like the little kid in me bubbles up occasionally. I see that same effervescence in the people I love around me, that jovial whimsy and general love of life with a caring, compassionate attitude.

That attitude helps us stay young at heart. A healthy diet and exercise will keep us looking and feeling young, but we can do more for our souls.

Getting enough sleep and recognizing that we must care for ourselves is a great start. Keeping our minds and bodies active with hobbies and continued education prevents us and our souls from getting rusty. Managing stress is also essential for our minds and bodies. All those stress hormones can really wear us down, adding years to our appearance and reducing our lifespan.

We should do things that bring us joy, not just immediate gratification. We should live life to its fullest. While we live it, we should also remember to practice gratitude. Treasure every moment, even those that seem difficult, because those moments help us grow.

When I think of my loved ones, those still with me, and those who have gone before, I remember them by their souls. I hope that I can leave that kind of lasting memory when it is my time to go.