Growing Younger As We Age
by Master Lee Feng San Shifu
Translated by Sophia Lui
Edited by Ric Meyers
Someone said to me: “Shifu, I don’t want to get old! With the passing of years, I’m terrified that I will become old, ugly, and infirm. Is there a way that I can hold on to my youth forever?”
Is it indeed possible to reverse the aging process? To be honest, it all depends on ourselves — whether we are willing to put in the effort to train and practice. If we use a proper training method, anyone can turn back the clock!
Nowadays, an increasing number of practitioners at Meimen are bearing witness to the effectiveness of our training methods. Some of our more senior members — with ages up to seventy, eighty or even ninety — have seen their health getting continuously better with the practice of Qi Gong. There are even members who, previously sick to the bone, have undergone a complete recovery. For them, this is not a mere return to youth, but a total transformation.
Nonetheless, we should not be obsessed with staying young forever, but rather focus on the more important task of inner self-development. When we have reached a certain level of self-development, having a youthful appearance will no longer be a concern for us.
I often encounter students, especially younger ladies who, being new to Meimen, attach much importance to their physical appearance. Therefore I say to them: “Despite going to great lengths to make yourselves look attractive, you will grow old one day. By that time, you will realize that the more you try to cover up that fact with beauty aids, the more anxiety it will cause you. Eventually, it will dawn on you that the fight against gravity is a losing battle!”
Therefore we should shift our focus to inner self-development and practice consistently. If we enrich our lives with continuous learning and growing, we will only become more attractive as we age. A person, let us say a female, who ages gracefully, will often have other people thinking: this person exhibits maturity of character, a quiet confidence and wisdom. She is certainly not young any longer, but one cannot tell how old she is either. Her gait is steady, her voice sonorous, and she moves with more agility than a younger person. What a lady!
If one can age in that manner, then one is surely an immortal, and has no need of any elixir of youth!
“Enrich our inner self and we will keep young; grow in wisdom and live life to the fullest.” — Lee Feng San Shifu