Until the earth stops revolving around the sun, we will age. How we conduct our lives, while stuck on this spinning ball, will determine how we age. Mankind has been forever searching for the fountain of youth - some esoteric external force to keep life fresh and vigorous for an indefinite period of time. But human life has a beginning and an end, defined by a potential that is consistent with that of a finite being. After all, we have to make room for our children.  So, let's begin by understanding and calmly accepting that we cannot exist even one nanosecond beyond that potential, but we can certainly fall short of actualizing it. So the goal would not be to stop the aging process (for that would mean stopping the living process), but instead, to live in a way that will allow us to successfully grow old until we peacefully and painlessly fall back into nature’s womb. To do this, we must not succumb to disease - especially those diseases that are known to abbreviate life.  So rather than waging an ineffectual war against a natural biological process, let us make peace with our obligation to preserve health, and voraciously consume every last morsel of our portion of eternity. 

Why squander precious time and energy in hopes of extending life beyond what is natural and possible, instead of cherishing and fully exploiting the genuine time at hand?  I suppose contemplating immortality is natural for any thinking mortal, but is no more than a fantasy. We would better serve ourselves by living salubriously and embracing the natural order of things. Man lives and dies so mankind can perpetually renew itself.  One cell replaces the next.  We exhaust our time, we serve our purpose, and we pass the baton.

I am in no way suggesting a fatalistic doctrine - one that asks us to passively accept the inevitability of our finitude. We should do all we can to preserve life, right up to our very last breath. What I am suggesting, however, is that we first, provide ourselves with the prerequisite conditions for optimal health, before we acquiesce to the over enthusiastic promises of science fiction.

Like all things, the human body persists in its own nature, in spite of the insults and injuries we inflict upon it. By supplanting these insults and injuries with health-promoting behaviors, we allow the body to most powerfully manifest its natural healing tendencies and return to a more youthful state. Rather than searching for some mythical fountain of youth, we should waste no time in discovering and adhering to a course of action that is in natural relationship with the organism and therefore specific to a long, healthy life. 

The essential needs of life are so fundamental, that we tend to overlook and under appreciate the impact of their omission and commission. In this day and age of laboratories, test tubes, nuclear medicine and cyber technology, simple things, like fasting, pure air and water, sunlight, whole foods, sleep, relaxation and movement, are regarded as being unimpressively primitive, rather than unequivocally indispensable. It stands to reason that we must provide ourselves with the same set of conditions the body fit itself to while still in the lap of nature. To immerse ourselves in an adulterated environment, knowingly indulge in pernicious behavior, and then seek absolution for our sins from the “anti-aging” gurus, seems foolish, although admittedly alluring. 

The prospect of growing younger, whether by way of some exotic potion, or the well-known and over used prescription pad, is as elusive to us today as it was to Ponce de Leon in the 16th century. Health is everywhere and always the result of healthful living. A healthy body is most likely to realize its full potential, both qualitatively and quantitatively. The elements of health surround us. They are available to all and are mostly free. We needn't sail the oceans nor traverse the land or sky to procure them. So, maybe, the proverbial fountain of youth is not so elusive after all. Or, maybe, as an old adage reminds us: you can lead a man to the fountain, but you can't make him drink.

Dr. Mark L. Houllif

https://www.healthrealizations.com/ConsultativeHealthandNutrition/Home.aspx

718.934.7806

drmlh@optonline.net

As a natural health consultant for over 25 years Mark Houllif has been teaching the scientific principles of health promotion. The goal is to guide the individual back to health using natural and nutritonal methods. By removing the causes of disease and establishing conditions of health we allow the body to most powerfully manifest its natural healing tendencies.