Youth is not a stage of life
- it is a mental stage;
- it is impetus, drive of the will,
- an active, alert and vivid imagination
- confidence in your emotions.
- It is bravery winning over cowardice,
- love of adventure triumphing over lethargy.
Nobody gets old because s/he lived a certain amount of years,
- only when one's ideals have faded in the distance.
- With the years skin gets wrinkly
- but the surrender of inspiration wrinkles the soul.
Worries, doubts, loss of confidence, fears and hopelessness,
- those are the bricks which pull your head towards the ground
- and bend an honest and upright spirit into the dust.
Seventy or seventeen, in the hearts of every human being lives a yearning for the wondrous,
- sublime awe at the sight of eternal stars, thoughts and things,
- the fearless venture,
- the insatiable childlike suspense that the next day brings,
- the exuberant joy and zest for life.
You are as young as your dreams,
- as old as your doubts,
- as young as your confidence,
- as old as your fears,
- as young as your hopes,
- as old as your despair.
As long as the message about beauty, joy, daring, greatness
- about the earth,
- about the people,
- about the infinite
- reach your heart, you are still young.
Only when the wings hang downward, and your heart is covered by the snow of pessimism and the ice of cynicism,
- only then have you become truly old.