Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end;
Each changing place with that which goes before,
In sequent toil all forwards do contend.
Nativity, once in the main of light,
Crawls to maturity, wherewith being crown’d,
Crooked eclipses ‘gainst his glory fight,
And Time that gave doth now his gift confound.
Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth
And delves the parallels in beauty’s brow,
Feeds on the rarities of nature’s truth,
And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow:
And yet to times in hope my verse shall stand,
Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand.
~ William Shakespeare, Sonnet 60

Of all the things in life for which I am thankful, high on the list are the catalytic verses penned by inspired minds through the ages that survived the test and the passage of time. Like yeast to the baker’s loaf, these verses transform that into which they are blended. To be sure, man cannot live by bread alone. Unless you allow yourself the luxury of relaxing fully into the eternal wellspring of life, you will not find comfort, wisdom or lasting fulfillment and you will spend your days spinning your wheels or perhaps better put, skipping along the surface of true fulfillment.

Where is that wellspring? How do you find it? Must you look into a church, library, treasure chest or the bosom of another? To be sure, the source of life is invisible to the human eye, yet it can be perceived nonetheless. Just as the wind can be felt on your cheek, proving its existence, so too can life be known by the forms that it animates. Everywhere you look gives evidence of the presence of life.

The physical forms of the creatures animated by life come and go, yet life springs eternal. The poet’s heart and mind are transfixed by the temporal nature of the forms he sees and feels, yet generation after generation life animates new forms in new ways that inspire new thoughts from new authors.

Celebrating the lives of those past and present is not the same as celebrating life itself. Life is eternal, while lives come and go. You and I are here now, but we won’t be forever. It makes sense, then, that we should do our utmost to let the life that is in us find expression through our bodies, minds and hearts in blessing to our fellows, lest we waste the marvelous forces of creation that conspired to produce the intricate patterns of design inherent in our cells, tissues, organs and systems.

No matter what your age as you read this, you are as young as you ever will be. The flourish set on youth – your youth – needn’t be transfixed by the passage of time when you realize this simple point. You are as young as you will ever be. The youth of the project that is your life is ever present.

I remember watching peers of my grandparents reach their sixties and seventies and various among them began to feel, act and ultimately appear old, more it seemed from a mental acquiescence than from any other reason. Some of them rediscovered their youth and managed to turn their outlooks and consequently, their lives around, while others waiting submitted themselves to the scythe of time.

Life, as I said, is omnipresent and everlasting. You either allow it to course through your veins, to vitalize your heart and mind or you don’t. Sure there are limiting factors that begin energetically and then manifest physically if left uncorrected, but the point is that you can take steps to adjust your course at any point in your life. You may not regain full function, but life will work its magic if given half the chance.

Will you give it a chance?