How To Remain Happy Healthy and Young

It’s been a while since we shared a health and beauty post and today’s post is great. How many of us want to look and stay young? I certainly do and I know that I need to change a lot of things in my food and lifestyle to help me on the way. Many Thanks to Becky for sharing today’s post. It’s fantastic!

I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who would really like to stay ‘young’. It is how we are judged in society today. Young is beautiful. Old is not acceptable. Celebrities who are 60 look 20. We have forgotten what 60 looks like. I read articles on how to stay young looking. I buy anti-aging creams. I take supplements. I exercise and do yoga.

There are so many articles and adverts out today advertising and reviewing wonder creams, ‘lifestyle diets’, miracle supplements and cosmetic procedures. Most of these encourage us to look younger, encourage us to keep our youthful beauty for as long as possible.
How did our generation ended up so obsessed with looking youthful? And what is it about ‘youthfulness’ that we are so obsessed with?

I believe we are obsessed with the ‘beauty of youth’. Yet … I think most of us have forgotten why Youth is beautiful. Youth is NOT beautiful because of good skin tone and line free skin. Youth IS beautiful because it is lively, refreshing, vibrant, energetic, EXCESS and fun…..

Youth is NOT deprivation, refraining, controlled or MODERATION…..

I remember those days when I went straight form the beach to the pub. Beach babe hair and bronzed skin from a day enjoying the sun and the sea – not from 3 hours in my room blow drying and backcombing my hair as my fake tan dried.

I remember those days when we stayed up all night and slept around a camp fire. Smoky eye makeup from a night under the stars.

I remember those days when I stayed up until 4 reading my book by torchlight because I couldn’t put it down; imagination fuelled my dreams.

I remember those days when a New Year was a huge party with favourite friends, and New Year’s resolutions were a chance to visualise of all the wonderful things I could do in the year ahead.

Surely we could all hold onto a little more of youths beauty if we simply focused on living again. Living for enjoyment. Living to have fun with our friends and family. Living to laugh and cry with passion. Living to explore, play, learn and conquer new talents.
I enjoyed the book and subsequent film ’Eat, Love, Pray’ – not for its literary success – but because it reminded me to live with passion.
In the book a young lady – caught up in her own modern life traumas – decides to leave it all behind and go and find her passion for life again. She started with learning to enjoy food again. She stopped caring whether she put on a little weight, and started to choose food for pleasure, real pleasure, not guilty pleasure. She then decided to take some time out for herself, simply to be. Finally she followed her heart to fulfil an old dream which led her to happiness.

Passion is such an attractive quality in people. It is far more attractive than ‘youth’. Passion fills our mind and bodies. Passion leads us forward to new experiences. Passion is living. It is time we rediscovered our passions, whatever they may be. If we look back to our youth we can be reminded of those things that we did because we loved them or because we believed passionately in them; whether that was music, a sport, a game, a belief, politics, food, books, travel or simply enjoying time spent with family and friends.

Who cares whether we we’ve got wrinkles. The beautiful youths don’t! Whether we are botoxed, derma filled or green goddesses, WE ARE STILL OLD AS FAR AS THE YOUTHFUL GENERATION ARE CONCERNED! The only ‘older’ people they admire are INTERESTING, FUN AND PASSIONATE.

I don’t believe I’m the only one who has started to question the meaning of all of these articles and adverts about youth – they have become so boring – more of the same – ‘how to stay young’ wrapped up in different packages.

The quick option: cosmetic surgery, liposuction, derma fillers and Botox.

Or the natural approach:

Eat as naturally as nature intended
Eat more greens
Include some good proteins and oils such as nuts, seeds and fish
Move your body
Get enough sleep

I’d say that’s about it…. I could write a book about it, but seriously I really believe we need to get on with living. It’s okay to care, to keep our bodies healthy, after all we only have one, and it’s the most precious thing we own, but I believe the OBSESSION needs to go. We’ve read the articles, we know the facts, surely there’s more to life after 30 than trying to stay young??

Our grandparents didn’t used to live like this: desperately searching for a miracle to look youthful. They used to make the most of their time on this earth; two World Wars taught them how precious life is.

It’s time to claim back our lives and start living passionate lives like the Beautiful Youths we once were!