In contrast, some elderly people remain youthful in spite of their advancing age. They keep their minds young. Their smiles trickle down from their souls into their bodies and faces; their very life blood throbs with the joy of being. And then there are those dull, lifeless persons who are as good as dead before they die and they don’t even know it.

They are the “walking dead.” You see many people like that-negative, critical, moody, and dispirited. There is no excuse for a wrong state of mind. You must be always positive-minded, cheerful, smiling, and vibrant. By all means, practice this mental youthfulness that comes from the core of your being.

Thus, the age of the body has no real connection with youthfulness. It is the state of the mind and the expression of the soul that make a person youthful. The definition of youth is that state of body, mind, and soul in which one feels the acme, the zenith, of joy and power. If you want to, you can retain that state indefinitely. Conversely, by carelessness you can lose it very easily.

If we consider from the mental standpoint we will realize the fact that the mind is the controller; i.e. it is at the controls of this body. The body itself is designed by the mind. We are the sum total of the consciousness we ourselves have created over a period of time (incarnations). This mind, or consciousness, is the supreme force that governs all voluntary and involuntary activities of this bodily factory with its multifarious outputs.