Don't let yourself think 'old'

I was in the supermarket, getting some items from the deli counter. It was wintertime, and I was wearing a light jacket. The woman behind the counter said, "You know, it is very important for older people to dress warmly in winter." I looked around, thinking that maybe she was talking to someone behind me. Then I realized she was talking to me.

Now, I do have gray hair, and maybe I'm a little creaky around the edges. But some years ago, I realized that life is not really meant to be one long downward slide from bright and sparkling youth to decrepit old age. Life - real life - is spiritual. One of the things that helped me understand this is a wonderful statement by Christ Jesus. Speaking of the people he wanted to help through his ministry, he said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

To me, this means that as we understand God better, our lives expand instead of contract. Since God is infinite good, letting God be our guide leads us into new opportunities, no matter what our age. The Old Testament in the Bible is full of stories of very old people who did amazing things. It seems clear that from God's standpoint, age is really irrelevant.

In her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of this newspaper, says: "Men and women of riper years and larger lessons ought to ripen into health and immortality, instead of lapsing into darkness or gloom. Immortal Mind feeds the body with supernal freshness and fairness, supplying it with beautiful images of thought and destroying the woes of sense which each day brings to a nearer tomb" (pg. 248).

So, how do you ripen into immortality? One of the things I've found important is to resist - in a friendly manner - the way other people might be looking at me just because I have gray hair. If someone offers to carry my bags for me, I don't necessarily take them up on it. I ask for help if I need it, but I resist being coddled.

There's something deeper, though, that happens within the privacy of my own thinking. When I wake up in the morning, if there are aches and pains, I refuse to say to myself, "Well, I'm getting older, and these aches are a part of that process." They are not the way to ripen into immortality, and they certainly don't have a spiritual basis. The Bible says specifically that God is Love, and if Love is the source of my spiritual inheritance, I am sure aches and pains are not part of that "package."

If I'm getting out of breath, I remind myself that I am not subject to an aging body that is running down. As God's idea, I have the strength and joy of divine Life, and this is what constitutes the substance of my being. The more I dwell on God and on my spiritual nature, the more energy and freedom I have.

Another aspect of ripening into immortality is loving the goodness that is around us. Sometimes the world seems to be changing so quickly that it's hard to keep up. Musical styles are strange or even offensive. Attitudes are different from when I was growing up. Moral values may seem to be going downhill. It can be easy to "shut down" mentally and withdraw into one's own little circle, but this is not ripening into immortality. Instead, we can look for evidence of God's presence, expressed as intelligence, beauty, insight, and joy. This is the way to put on immortality.

OK, so it's not always easy. I admit to being puzzled by rap music and fairly inept at video games. But I try to keep interested, to value what is good and to pray about what seems bad. Sometimes when I pray I get new insights into the things that I can't understand and actually find them to be better than I thought. Sometimes my prayers lead me to get involved in activities that will help to curb the things I find distressing.

Over the years, praying to understand God better has helped me understand more clearly my true inheritance as His spiritual representative. Rejecting the aches and pains of aging, along with keeping an active eye out for His goodness in the people and discoveries around me, keeps me mentally vigorous and eager for each new day.