“The chief prevention against getting old is to remain astonished.”
This year, I turned 50.
I always tell people that I don’t mind getting older. I just don’t want to look older or feel older.
Would you agree?
I’m always on the hunt for natural ways to keep myself looking and feeling my best, so when I read the quote above I was intrigued. Time to do some deep introspection!
I was in college the first time I met somebody with a three-car garage. I thought it was the coolest thing I’d ever seen, the absolute pinnacle of good breeding. (Back then, it didn’t take much.) You’ll be relieved to know I no longer gawk when I encounter one. Nowadays, just about everyone I know has a three car garage, including me.
That’s what they call the Law of Diminishing Astonishment.
I didn’t coin the term, but I refer to it often because the law rings true. What’s extraordinary today will feel ordinary over time.
But if the chief prevention against getting old is to remain astonished, then what’s a girl to do?
After five decades of living on this earth, the temptation is to settle into the same ‘ol boring routines. There’s a reason why we often say that people of a certain age are set in their ways. It’s a stereotype that fits. I’m going to push back a bit here, though. Not only does doing the same thing day after day get boring, but if we’re to believe that quote I posted earlier, then repetition can also be bad for your health.
So how do we find astonishment at an age when most of our comrades are bragging that they weren’t, in fact, “born yesterday?”
It’s a tough sell for anybody.
On the one hand, I’m glad I’m no longer in the throes of changing diapers or wrestling a toddler to bed for a nap, but one thing I do miss is the young person’s zest for life. For them, everything is new and untested. Every discovery inspires a question that demands to be answered.
sounds like science.
The Scientific Method seeks to answer questions and validate theories using objective tests and experiments.
But guess what?
Astonishment isn’t objective at all.
It’s one of the most SUBJECTIVE emotions in the universe. Astonishment doesn’t ask why. It simply admires, adores, praises, and reveres. Let’s travel back in time and visit you at age four or six or ten—the first time you caught a lizard and found yourself standing on the porch holding only a tail, that time you skipped a stone across the glassy lake and it actually jumped forward a few times, or that time your eyes were bigger than your stomach but your mom let you have a fluffy mound of cotton candy and you felt it melting on your tongue.
That, my friend, is astonishment.
There are a few ways we can enjoy that kind of astonishment now:
We can fill our days with a bunch of new things.
We can live vicariously through the kids we know.
We can slow down and pay attention.
#3
Right now, my life feels slow. I’m on the cusp of a new season, with my kids not really kids anymore. The ones that still live in my house are mini adults. They don’t need me in the same way they used to. I find myself spending more time rocking on my porch, walking to my local library, listening to music while I cook in my kitchen, and of course writing. (Gosh, I sound old!)
The thing is that all this slowness has really given me a great gift. It’s given me a chance to be astonished, not necessarily by what I’m doing, but by all I see and hear and touch and smell and taste. Our senses really are a miracle in and of themselves when we pay attention to the information we’re gathering.
And guess what else?
Good Sleep Impacts Curiosity and Learning
Multiple studies have linked quality sleep to healthy aging. I also think that getting good sleep might not be that complicated.
What if sleep is simply a happy side effect of astonishment?
Maybe it’s the real reason kids sleep so well.
You might have to fight a young child to actually get them to go to bed, but once they are asleep, children sleep deeply. And I think I know why. The end of the day for a child is simply the end of the day. They wear themselves out, and they are not worried about tomorrow. They close their eyes with the assurance that mommy and daddy will keep them safe and that tomorrow’s joy awaits. The grown up mind, however, has no such assurance. It pores over the worries of the day, of chores left undone, and work to be completed upon awakening. Lacking astonishment, it languishes in a maelstrom of fragmented to-do lists.
It doesn’t have to be that way!
You might have to work a little harder to close down your mind, but it is possible. Can you end the night with a five minute recap of your day? Write it a longhand in a real journal or type a bulleted list of what you did on the Notes app on your phone. Write down what you want to do tomorrow. Just get it out of your head before you lay down your head. There’s nothing worse that waking up at 3:00 AM panicked about something you forgot to do today or that you’re afraid you’ll forget to do tomorrow.
Every new morning is an invitation to be astonished.
What the Bible Has to Say About Astonishment
The teachings of both Jesus and the apostles often inspired awe. When you read the gospels, you’ll see the words, “and they were amazed,” over and over again.
Sure, Jesus performed lots of miracles. He also said some pretty wise things, things that blew people’s minds. Onlookers marveled at his words and actions.
The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.—Matthew 15:31
Let me ask you: when was the last time you heard or read something and were “amazed?” Did you stop and praise God?
If not, I’d encourage you to do so, especially if you want to stay young.