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I was reading The Imitation of Christ by Thomas à Kempis this morning, and came across the following line: "Be seldom with the young and with strangers." I totally disagree with the first part, and jotted* a note against it which said "Don't agree, unless young here means inexperienced." I enjoy hanging out with the young, and they get younger each year. Currently the youngest is a not-yet-20 year old who sometimes makes me feel younger and quite useless. Okay, so my niece is a year younger than that and I hang out with her and her cousins, too, but that's different, that's family. And with some of her cousins getting married and having kids, I am also now a grand-aunt who will probably, in a few years' time, be hanging out with these grand-nieces and nephews. Hey, I even have an official grand aunt portrait done recently. But I'm digressing ... I enjoy hanging out with the young because, simply, they keep me young. I enjoy chatting with them and hearing their opinions, comments and viewpoints on everything and anything. And if I'm in a more thinking mood, I sometimes find myself comparing them to how things were when I was their age. Some things have not changed, but the world is more complicated these days, and a lot more has changed than has not. My young friends may be young in age, but some of them are "old" in their thinking and outlook on life. It's not the number of years that determine age, but what goes into those years. Digressing again ... Hanging out with the young 'uns keeps me young because it keeps my thoughts from otherwise growing stale and getting stuck in my 40s (and later 50s, maybe even 60s) rut. I enjoy being challenged by my young friends. I also enjoy staying young (in mind and in looks). But they're not the only reason why I'm staying young. Something else is, but that will not be the subject of another online journal entry. And lest anyone thinks I don't hang out with senior citizens, I just want to say I DO, I DO! This will definitely be the subject of another online journal entry, maybe not this one. *21st century version of writing on the margins of a book, as my version of the book is an ebook, this one requires highlighting the portion to be commented on, clicking on the Notes feature, and jotting down the note on the space provided |
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happy.