Youth is not a period of time. It is a state of mind, a result of the will, a quality of the imagination, a victory of courage over timidity, of the taste for adventure over the love of comfort. A man doesn't grow old because he has lived a certain number of years. A man grows old when he deserts his ideal. The years may wrinkle his skin, but deserting his ideal wrinkles his soul. Preoccupations, fears, doubts , and despair are the enemies which slowly bow us toward earth and turn us into dust before death. You will remain young as long as you are open to what is beautiful, good and great; receptive to the messages of other men and women, of nature and of God. If one day you should become bitter, pessimistic and gnawed by despair, may God have mercy on your old man's soul.
General Douglas McArthur
I got this quotation by General Douglas McArthur from Deb's weblog. She was reflective as she approached her twentieth year. As I reached my thirty-sixth, I am thankful for this reminder that a man doesn't grow old when he has lived a certain number of years; but rather deserting his ideals wrinkles his soul and makes him grow old. May my soul remain youthful and refreshed as I seek to live a life of radical grace, wide awake to God, and in a passionate pursuit of Christ. I shall keep on keeping on!
Thank you Debs for this reminder!
Keep on Keeping On!
Ollie
4 Mar 2008
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