the youthful soul.

I've interacted with teenagers whose souls seemed so prematurely old...shriveled and shrinking back from belief in anything new or great.

And I have also interacted with "elderly" folk ranging from 80s to over 100 with some of the youngest souls you could find. Saints filled with the joy for God's life, free from the bondage of doubt and baggage of continual regret..

"Youth is not a period of time. It is a state of mind, a result of the will, a quality of 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." (A prayer composed by the late Gen. Douglas MacArthur)