"From the Fountain of Youth..."

"From the Fountain of Youth
"this elixir I pour.
"You're ten years younger
"than you were before."

For those who are big fans of the television series BEWITCHED, you might remember that incantation that



shaved a few years off Aunt Clara to help her remember a spell she had cast. It was the spell that turned Jonathan Tate into an identical twin.



Do I believe in the Fountain of Youth? Hmmm.... there are pills and liquids that can certainly change the body's chemistry. I ingest two such marvels on a daily basis. One is used to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and manage abnormal lipid levels by inhibiting the endogenous production of cholesterol in the liver. The other is an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) used to treat hypertension, heart failure, and myocardial infarction.
I do believe in science. I also believe in magic. They are both very valuable in my life, lifestyle, practices, and interactions with my fellow man. Both science and magic evolve. Sometimes the old ways are still valid. However, over time, it is possible for them to no longer be valid if they are removed from their period of origin and/or use.
In the case of science, we have other procedures for healing wounds. We generally don't use hot branding irons to seal a wound. We irrigate them with clean water and then dress them accordingly/appropriately.
The same is true for magic. Some magic requires that the agent be of a certain temperament. You certainly don't want someone who is sweet and naïve to call upon the powers of death, doom, destruction, and/or despair (unless you were writing a screenplay for Hollywood). In addition, just saying the words doesn't make things happen. The sorcerer needs understand the words' meanings and sometimes those meanings are changed over time. ("A gay, tight, drinking buddy," meant something completely different in the 1920s than it would today.
So where do I stand on the Fountain of Youth? My thoughts are about the same as they would be on a diet pill. I ask, "What would it do?" If I inject something into the skin of my head and neck, will the skin remove the wrinkles? And how? Will the skin stretch? Will the layers of skin be filled with fluid? How long will it last? How often do I need to do this? Is anything else affected by this?
And what else does youth enjoy? Strength? Energy? A tireless body in motion? I don't need to move refrigerators and I can clean shelves just fine without any black beauties (the drug, that is). I'm not running track. My biggest drawback in all of this is motivation. Heck, I need to pray in the morning for motivation to get out of bed. Sometimes I am thankful for having both the agility to ambulate and the sensation that I need to relieve my bladder.
So I hold back on taking anything that lays claim to make me younger. I might consider a multi-vitamin every now and again, but other than that, I seem to embrace who I am and what I do.