The Key To Staying Young? – Never Stop Playing!
These two are both “little girls”…they are just from different generations but they both know how to have fun! Look at the joy on their sweet, playful faces 🙂
As Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. is famously quoted as saying:
“We do not quit playing because we grow old, we grow old because we quit playing.”
The blonde little girl in the photo above you may recognize as Evangeline, age 7. The other adorable “little girl” is Evangeline’s great great aunt, Auntie Helen. Auntie Helen is 92 years young and still works several times a week (sometimes several times a day) as she is hired to play her accordion or the piano in Senior living homes in the Los Angeles area. “It makes me feel so good to do something to brighten up those old people’s lives,” says the very young and playful Auntie Helen. “If there is music around, why I just can’t keep my feet still! I just love to dance. I’ve been like that since I was a child. I guess I never grew up!” she says with a twinkle in her eye. And she lights up when her 7 year old buddy comes to give her a kiss and hug. They grin and giggle like two little friends. If Oliver Wendell Holmes is right, neither Auntie Helen nor Evangeline will ever be “old” no matter what their ages. They know how to have fun, they enjoy playing.
Playing looks different for each of us. For some it is engaging in a board or card game, others would prefer a game of hoops or a day on the golf course. Fishing is a fun pastime especially in summer, as is hiking…for some people…not necessarily your Two Chums :-). There are picnics and long walks, bike riding and people watching. And how can you beat a day at the beach or lake. There is undeniably something about water that makes everything seem more fun, no matter what your age.
Playing is serious business as far as our health and well being is concerned. There is a reason for the adage “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Dull indeed and likely a depressed and sickly boy too. Play, we are learning, is more important to our well being than we ever imagined. An article from Psychology Today says this, “Recreational deprivation has been linked to criminality, obesity, and declining creativity. Play is a banquet for the brain, a smorgasbord for the senses, providing nourishment for body and spirit: sad then that as a society we seem to be starving ourselves of it.”
So whatever activity it is that brings a smile to your face and joy to your heart, do it! Schedule some time now to let yourself have fun. We think you will be very glad you did…and so will your family and friends who will all benefit from a happier, healthier you. And remember, playing keeps you young …. so never stop playing 🙂
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