George Carlin was a writer, comedian, and comic actor who entertained for nearly 50 years. His stand-up routines were satirical, irreverent, sometimes controversial—and always hilarious. One of his favorite subjects was aging. And while he had plenty of funny things to say about getting older, his best-known piece on aging was 10 serious bits of advice.
If you’d like to stay young regardless of what it says on your driver’s license, consider George Carlin’s words of wisdom:
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes your age, weight, and height. Let the doctors worry about that stuff. That’s why you pay them!
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever you don’t know. Never let your brain go idle. When we were kids, we were told, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." Today it’s still true, but that devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things. You know what they are. You just don’t do them enough.
5. Laugh often, long, and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. Then laugh some more.
6. Let tears happen. When you lose someone, endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who will be with you your entire life is you. Be ALIVE while you’re still alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love. No matter what you cherish—family, pets, mementos, pictures, music, plants, hobbies. Embrace what feeds your soul.
8. Cherish your health. If it’s good, preserve it. If it’s shaky, improve it. If you can’t improve it on your own, get help. Nothing you have is more valuable than your health.
9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, to the next county, even to a foreign country--but DON'T GO where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them. And don’t wait for the right moment. Do it at every opportunity.
Carlin throws in this last observation: Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.
