The Fountain of Youth
For me, there is no substitute for learning. Learning is the kind of wealth that will follow you everywhere.
I'm not talking about attainment of degrees. Certificates and diplomas only mean something to the people that don't know you. What I'm talking about doesn't have an end. To the contrary, it has a million beginnings.
Too many people let their egos get in the way of what it means to truly live getting old in the process. They fear losing their perceived value as a person if they were to submit to the act of learning something new.
Then there are those people that get frustrated and quit something that they try to learn. What they don't understand is that we learn more by looking for the answer to a question and not finding it than we do from learning the answer itself.
Therefore, I don't believe that the number of years you have lived determines if you are old. I believe the lack of curiosity of life determines your age. And quite simply, people who feel that they are too old too learn have not yet learned to be young.
Learning satisfies something deep inside us that can't be rivaled. Life and learning go hand-in-hand. In continuing to learn, I'm seeking an origin, you could call it a rebirth. Each time I learn something, I feel closer to the essence of life and my youth. I've found that learning very well may be my own personal fountain of youth.
Adam Williss is an Orange County-based martial artist / teacher and healing movement practitioner. He is also founding editor of Wing Chun Magazine. More info can be found at http://www.adamwilliss.com.
