No one can resist the aging of the body, but an elderly person should pursue childlike innocence and always maintain a youthful mindset. By remaining young at heart, one can forget about worries and unknowingly extend their youth and life. Maintaining a childlike innocence not only promotes a strong bond with younger generations but also allows one to live a relaxed and joyful life, removing any sense of old age and bringing great significance to the concept of rejuvenation.
When a person maintains a childlike innocence, they are filled with vitality and their life is filled with happiness, creating a perpetually youthful spiritual world. Pursuing childlike innocence is a normal physiological phenomenon. Shakespeare had an insightful saying about this physiological phenomenon: "The second childhood of old age." In Chinese culture, there is a saying "the old and the young are close together," which used to bring good luck. It was common to hang a banner on the entrance door with the words "children's words and old people's words are unrestricted," linking the old and the young together, thus giving rise to the term "old and young."
Luyou, a patriotic poet from the Southern Song Dynasty, lived to be 85 years old. The reason for his longevity was not only due to his good health practices but also because he had a childlike innocence. "When I have free time, I play with my grandchildren, riding on bamboo horses." From this poem, it is evident that even in his old age, Luyou often played the game of riding bamboo horses with his grandchildren, demonstrating his youthful spirit.
The pursuit of childlike innocence in old age is beneficial to both physical and mental health. Modern research shows that elderly people with a childlike innocence can live carefree lives, always smiling, and can also stimulate the secretion of various beneficial hormones such as enzymes and acetylcholine. These substances can regulate the constriction of blood vessels, blood flow, nerve stimulation, and resistance, promoting metabolism, enhancing disease resistance, and achieving longevity.
