Youth
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a mat ter of rosy cheecks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, qual ity 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 appeti te for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more th an a boy of 20.Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by dese rting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, selfdistrust blows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wounder, 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 message of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and fr om 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 a erials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80 .
青 春
青春不是人生的一段时间,而是一种心态;青春不在于满面红光 ,嘴唇红润,腿脚麻利,而在于意志刚强,想象的丰富,情感的饱满;青春是生命之泉的明 澈清新。
青春意味着在气质上勇敢战胜怯懦,进取精神战胜安逸享受。这种气质在60岁的老人中比在 20岁的青年中更常见。仅仅一把年纪决不会导致衰老。我们之所以老态龙钟,是因为我们放 弃了对理想的追求。
岁月的流逝会在皮肤上留下皱纹,而热情的丧失却会给灵魂刻下皱纹。焦虑、恐惧和缺乏自 信会使心情沮丧,意志泯灭。
无论是60岁,还是16岁,每一个人的心田都有着对新鲜事物的心驰神往和寻根问底、追求人生乐趣的不泯童心。在你我的心田中有座无线电台,只要它能接受来自人类和上帝的美感、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量,你就永葆青春。
如果你收起天线,使自己的心灵蒙上一层玩世不恭的霜雪和悲观厌世的冰凌,既使你年方20 ,你已垂垂老矣;但只要你竖起天线去收集乐观进取的电波,那就有希望在你80高龄辞世之时仍然青春焕发。