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Last week, my friend Pam came over for me to interview and photograph her for my book. I asked her to bring over some items that were meaningful to her, and God help me, she brought her samurai sword. Pam has been doing martial arts for decades now, and this is her favourite sword. There was, obviously, no way in hell I wasn't going to shoot her in action. These are a couple of the outtakes.
The main reason that I asked Pam to be a part of my book is because she is positively the most youthful person I know -- and as I told her, considering I have a 5-year-old daughter, that's really saying something. If I told you how old she is,* you would call me a dirty, dirty liar. She's amazing.
The whole experience of speaking with Pam has put me in a very thoughtful mood about what being "youthful" really means. So I thought I'd open the floor: if you think of the most youthful person you know (regardless of age -- the person could be 2 or 92), what is it about them that makes them "youthful"?
* I'm not going to tell you here. But I will tell you in the book.
Song: Say Hey (I love you) by Michael Franti & Spearhead. Today's song brought to you by Stephanie.
Image: Pam, photographed in my back garden, Nikon D300, 60mm lens
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 12:00AM
Reader Comments (19)
I admire people you keep young - mainly when they keep young in spirit and in their mind. When I was 16 (which is 20 years ago now) I had an after school job in a shop selling accessories, one of the members of staff was a retired school teacher, she was just so bored at home that she looked for a job. She looked wonderful, she was so funny and she was super interested in me - 16 year old obnoxius teenager - and we became friends. When she told me that she was 72 I couldn't believe it. She was older than my grandmother yet soooooooooo much younger than her. We'd talk boyfriends, going out, having fun, naughty things she did when she was young etc. She died before I moved to the UK in 2003 and she had not gotten ill or anything, she just went to bed and fell asleep having had scheduled to go and play cards the next day with some friends.
My husbands grandfather is 94, but his mind is still 20-something. Despite his physical package slowly giving out on him, his mind and his goal setting just isn't fading. He still drives across the country to see his great-grand kids and insists that next year will be THE year he makes the journey from the UK to see us in New Zealand.
I know people half his age with not even a quarter of the zest for life that he has.
I think attitude keeps a person young...that and good health.
So funny, my grandson made a comment about my being so much younger than his other grandmother. We are about the same age, and she is young looking and fit, so it isn't that, it is the ATTITUDE with which we live our life. Be silly, remain optimistic, resist being jaded, be willing to rethink things you always knew to *be*, don't live in the past, learn and move on.
Youth is mind set I think most will agree we all have had people in our lives that feel they are old and one foot in the grave and we have had people that are in their 80 and as feisty and fun loving as a teenager. This blend of people and personalities is what make are culture what it is. Think most people have times in their lives that they feel like a teenager or allot young then their birth age. And even children that are 5 like my boy that sometimes seems to have a soul of a person that has lived in their 40. There are people that believe in the old soul idea but not me, think it is just a natural way that they look at the world and interpreted it.
For me the youngest person in personality would be my beautiful bride of 16 years, she has time that she is a young as the day I meet her and a love for life and personality that is far younger than her age.
light*heartedness.
twinkling eyes.
dressing up as a super*hero (even when you are 20 +).
laughter that seems to come from the center of the universe and into the center of one's belly and out of one's mouth.
smiling.
listening.
thoughtfulness.
imagining.
learning.
Their eyes. You can see a childlike way in their eyes.
My father was the most youthful person I knew. He passed in 2005 at 81 but all in his life he was exuberant, hopeful, loving, never met a stranger, always shared, laughed often, played games, explored his world, tickled, water skied, hugged, built things, and was in constant awe of nature. Friends used to say (tongue in cheek, lovingly) that he was so immature. I miss him daily, but live by his examples.
Being youthful is an attitude of confidence and we get that when we are taking care of ourselves, being happy with who we are and the girlfriends we keep around us. They are the most youthful people I know and respect.
The idea of age and youth has been coming up a lot around here. We've had friends with birthdays in the past months, birthday numbers that they wish weren't happening. My brother turns 50 in March. My husband is creeping up on 40. Dad turned 70 this year. When I look at the number instead of the person, I get a little freaked out. How is it possible?!?! But age, just like time is relative. Chris always says that "you're only as old as the woman you feel". I don't feel old and as I look around at my friends and family, I don't see old people. We do a lot of laughing around here, a lot of hugs, and a lot of supporting. I think this keeps us young.