KURT’S DAILY MUSE: “MacArthur on Aging” October 7, 2014 He not only understood great military strategies, but General Douglas MacArthur was somewhat of a philosopher when it came to aging. He said: Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a state of mind. It is not wholly a matter of ripe cheeks, red lips, or supple knees. It is a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life. It means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of an appetite for adventure over love of ease. Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. People grow old only by deserting their ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up interest wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair...these are the long, long years that bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust. Whatever your years, there is in every beings heart the love of wonder, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing, childlike appetite for what next, and the joy of the game of life. You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair. In the central place of your heart, there is a recording chamber; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, and courage, you are young. When the wires are all down, and your heart is covered with the snow of pessimism and the ice of cynicism, then - and then only - are you grown old. Who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens (Heb. 11:33,34). By the Way: Realize that you are only as old as your sense of wonder, your depth of faith, your courage to say I shall return, and your love for Christ in asking...Whats next?
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 10:44:46 +0000
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