A heart that loves is always young.

A heart that loves is always young. – Greek Proverb

Love, it will keep their hearts young.

What does that mean?
Can you remember the euphoria of the early stages of love? I believe this is what is being described in this quote. Your strength, vigor, energy and enthusiasm all seem to spike, as does you mood. At least that’s how it went for me. If you can revive that feeling later in life, as I have, it seems to be the same, and you feel at least a decade younger, perhaps more.

I would also presume that this could apply not just to the love of a person, but to the love of a cause as well. I expect that anything that brings out great passion in you would also bring a similar surge of enthusiasm. Have you ever talked to an old person about their grand kids? Their eyes light up, and their energy surges, right? Need I say more?

Why is passion important?  
To me, passion is the primary spice of life. The things you really care about, that move you to action, these are the things that really matter. It could be anything from friends and family to politics, religion or animals. There are so many passionate people trying to do what is, in their minds, the best possible thing for their cause.

Passion must be tempered by at least a measure of reason, as even the most passionate people can do terrible things if they are not held in check by societal norms and common laws. Yes, there are times when a paradigm shift is needed, but there are many ways to cause shift to happen. Trying to shift the norm without skill will typically be counter-productive at best.

Passion is what fills the heart with meaning and drive. It keeps emotions high and motivation even higher. It helps people face repeated failures with determination that they will win in the end. Just keep your heart pure and insure your motivations are good, so as to keep everything proper.

Where can I apply this in my life?
What are the things you are passionate about? What puts a spring in your step? Are you passionate about a cause (or two or three)? Do you have an artistic streak that you are passionate about, either as a creator or as a consumer? Do you have a hobby or a pet or music or … well, the list could well be endless, right?

Grab some paper and make a list (can you guess I’m passionate about lists and planning?) of some of your favorite things that you are passionate about. Don’t worry about order or how many you list, just a few will do for now, you can always do this again at a later time.

Consider each for a few moments. How much time do you invest in each of your passions? Is there a reason why one gets more time than others? Is it availability of resources, expense or something else?

If you like photographing sunsets, but work the swing shift, you might only get to engage in your passion on the weekends or holidays. If you play the tuba, you might not be able to practice while your family (or the neighbors) are trying to watch TV or sleep. If you like to wrench on cars, you might not be able to do body work or run the air compressor early in the morning or late at night.

These are external constraints, and something that we cannot do much about, other than try to work with the people who either are the constraints or control the constraints. Examine the list of reasons you have next to each of your passions and put an EX next to the ones that are external in nature.

The remainder are most likely things that are under your control. If it’s money that’s the limiting factor, are you sufficiently passionate to brown-bag your lunch and eat PB&J for lunch for the rest of the year to save some money? Are there other cost cutting measures you can implement to get the cash you need for your passion? Please don’t resort to theft, that just wouldn’t be proper, now would it?

Look at the things that you have some control over, and start thinking about how you can make adjustments to your life to allow you to spend less time on the drudgery of life and spend more time with your passions.

Take a little time and select one of your passions on which you want to focus. Now think about your limitations and what can be rearranged to accommodate a little more of your passion. If it’s time, what can be moved or eliminated? If it’s cost, what can you do without to free up some cash?

Plot and plan and see what you can do to put a little more emphasis on your passions. If you’re anything like the people I know, your quality of life will improve and life will be a lot more fun!

From: Twitter, @Quotes_on_Love
confirmed at : http://thinkexist.com/quotes/like/the_heart_that_loves_is_always_young/7379/ usually attributed as a Greek Proverb, but sometimes given other attribution.
Photo by Tennessee Wanderer