Youth is not a time of life; It is a state Of
mind; It is not a matter of rosy cheeks,
red lips and supple knees; It is a matter
of the will, A quality of the imagination. A
vigor of the emotions; It is the freshness
of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance
of courage over timidity of the appetite, for
adventure over the love of ease.
This often exist in a man of 60 more than a boy
of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of
years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up
enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear,
self-distrust bows the heart and turns the
spirit back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human
being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing
childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of
the game of living.
In the center of your heart and my heart there is
a wireless station: So long as it receives messages
of beauty, hope, cheers, courage and power from
men and from the infinite, so long are you young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is
covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of
pessimism then you are grown old. Even at 20.
But as long as your aerials are up, to catch the
waves of optimism, there is hope you die young
at 80.
Samuel Ullman