Young.

Young.

In our culture youth sells. (That's because youth buys.) Really, in any culture where buying and selling is a priority, youth sells. Who doesn't want to be good looking, strong, vital, fresh, eager, sexy. Disregard those other usual traits of youth: callow and shallow.

As we age we seem to lose those attractive qualities even as we may gain in wisdom and understanding. I say "may" because as you have probably noticed, older is not necessarily wiser. The industries that cater to our desire to retain that glow of youth are big; As The Donald would say, "Uuge". There's a pill for that, don't you know.

I would argue, however, that we have it wrong. Who says that because you get older you automatically get more decrepit and — well, let's call a spade a spade — damned butt ugly. Is aging, in itself, the cause of that slide from dewy-cheeked rosiness? If you look at how things seem to progress, you would likely say that, yes, it is. Too soon old, and you look like an old fart. When you get old, fella, what do you want to be; a coot, a codger, or a curmudgeon?

I represent an emerging industry that is also youth oriented. And, I beg to differ. Youth has nothing to do with age. Repeat, "Youth has nothing to do with age." Don't be confused by usual parlance. Youth is vital, strong, good looking, and capable . . . at any age.

So just how does one manage to pull that off, staying young throughout one's life? Think young you might say? That doesn't hurt. But, as you become wiser you begin to understand that life isn't about getting your thinking in the right place, getting your shit together as they say. Here again, a lot of folks seem to opt for this way of living, as a goal in life. "If I could just get my head right." Isn't that what passes for adolescence? Problem is, as anyone who as lived into this post-modern era knows, just what does "getting your head right" actually mean? Can you do this on your own, or do you need to have some agreement with other like-minded folks? Your friends, associates. And, that bastion of unstated agreements, your family. 

"Getting you head right" isn't altogether a bad idea. Here is where my new industry has a useful take on getting that accomplished.

But first a word from one of our sponsors . . .

Approaching the Self is like walking the razor's edge: two cannot go there. You cannot bring your mind nor even a thought. The only one who can help you is Self. Anything that touches a flame becomes the flame. Touch a sage and you become a . . . sage. Knowing Self, you see only Self and this Self is your Guru. The Satguru is within, meditate only on That! The true Guru is Self. All else is pointing to Self.

Eventually you have to get rid of the name and form of both Master and yourself. You have to reject the finger in order to see the moon. Where there is name and form there is falsehood. It is an impediment to freedom because nothing you see will give you freedom. When you are drowning hold only onto Self. Reach for anything else and you will die. Don't cling to anything made from the five elements. The Guru has no body, visible or invisible. Do not depend on any body. Bodies are just fingers pointing to the Truth! Reject the form of the Guru and only the Supreme is left.

~ Sri H. W. L. Poonja (Papaji)

If you are not (yet) disposed to even want to know what in the hell the foregoing is all about, that's just dandy. Don't worry. You are going to die soon enough, you know. If you don't want to know where you are going, no biggie. Or, where you came from. Or, why. But, hey, buy that bronzer and look young. Everyone loves a beautiful corpse. It's over when it's over. Don't think about it. Just keep shopping.

[Excuse him for that rant, he occasionally gets on his high horse, and it will gallop.]

In a nutshell (because I am getting a little short on making this point) the secret is to stop dragging the past around. Yes, you are in such miserable shape because you are dragging your karmic bundle from here to there. If you are thinking the term "miserable shape" doesn't apply to you, then consider this: maybe it's just that your bag of karmic crap is all tied up nicely and pretty like, so everyone thinks you're just swell. Lipstick on a pig. (That's what she said.) And, what's worse is that as you get along in the world you like to collect more for your bundle. And, of course, keep improving how it looks on the outside. The time comes when your bundle is so big, just any old movement and it crushes you. Finito! Who turned out the lights? There's an inside to things. When you go there you find that youth we be talkin' about.