Talk Back with Ellen Wood

A cow helps me grow younger.

Sometimes it’s the little things that make life so wonderful. And sometimes they might be as big as a cow!

That happens to be true for me. There is a cow in my life and she brings me, and others, much joy and delight.

What does a cow have to do with growing younger?  Well, one of my daily anti-aging action steps is to do something silly or fun or spontaneous. Something that makes me feel good – better yet, something that makes me laugh.

And my cow makes me laugh!

I’ll tell you how she came into my life but first I want to tell you about what is possibly the most underrated aspect of staying youthful.

It’s laughing.

Laughing rejuvenates our cells. In fact, a regular 20-minute laughter session can profoundly influence our health and wellbeing.  When we laugh, our bodies release hormones and chemicals that have startling positive effects on our minds and bodies.

There’s a website called Laughter Yoga with videos about laughing for good health. You might want to try out their laughter exercises. Just go to my website www.howtogrowyounger.com, click on Ellen Recommends, scroll to the bottom and click on the last link.

And how did I get a cow that makes me laugh?

One day seven years ago I thought to myself: I need a cow in my sagebrush. You see, there’s sagebrush everywhere you look outside my house in northern New Mexico. Sagebrush, mountains and a few pinion pines.

And I felt a cow would look great in the sagebrush – for the absurdity of it. Not a real one, but one that’s life size and looks real.

So I went looking for a life size, fiberglass cow for my New Mexico plot of land. And I found her – in New Jersey.

I had her shipped out here and named her Elsie. She’s black and white, unlike the REAL cows around here, and I had her placed at just the right spot near my driveway.

As you approach my house, the driveway makes a sharp turn to the right and the pinion trees hide the rest of the driveway. When you make the turn – surprise – there’s Elsie! Her body faces south but her head looks east at the approaching car, as though, startled, she looked up.

Everyone who comes to visit for the first time thinks she’s real at first glance. And they enjoy the absurdity too!

So how does she make me laugh? Well, if the sun’s ready to set and I haven’t done something silly or fun or spontaneous, I walk out to my cow halfway down the driveway and moo. Yes, I moo! Silly, right? It makes me laugh so I guess that’s pretty silly. (I figure when she moos back, then maybe I’ll start to worry.)

Not many people have a life size cow that’s not real, so here’s another idea for being silly. Free that inner child: stand out in the rain and open your mouth. Don’t care what people think; invite them to join you. It’s making you younger. Or turn on the music and dance with the broom.

It takes only a minute or so to do something silly or fun each day, but if you’re not in the mood, then do something spontaneous. Here are some ways: You could say to someone “Let’s go to the movies tonight.”  Or “C’mon over and let’s lie naked in front of the fireplace.” That’ll get their attention even if you intend to keep your clothes on. Or give someone a hug when they least expect it.

Flexibility is one of the secrets of growing younger. Being spontaneous helps you stay flexible – instead of being rigid which is often associated with old age.

Do something different. Eat pizza for breakfast. Well…maybe not pizza but you get what I mean. Think about it. Do you know someone who’s set in their ways – not just getting older but growing old and rigid? Eating oatmeal, oatmeal, oatmeal every morning?

And you’re afraid to ask them how they are because you might get an organ recital?

Decide that that’s not who you intend to emulate. Be spontaneous. Be silly. Be different. Do something absurd. Paint your toenails green! Okay, so you guys don’t want to do that but find a way out of your set ways. Maybe go to a girlie movie and let yourself cry at the sad parts.

Please share with us your stories of silly, fun things you do to keep young and flexible. Just Click to Comment below. I’d love to hear from you.

You know, that shop in New Jersey also had a life size pig. I wonder…

Joy and Blessings!

Ellen

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