The notion that zest for life must diminish as one grows older is based on a false notion. Going along with the material view of man—as a higher form of animal who's born, grows, matures, and then deteriorates and dies—has a demoralizing effect that stifles confidence and joy.

In marked contrast, the teachings of Christian Science present man in a wholly different light, as the likeness of his Maker —completely spiritual and free. "The radiant sun of virtue and truth coexists with being," Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health. "Manhood is its eternal noon, undimmed by a declining sun." Further along on the same page she goes on to say, "Except for the error of measuring and limiting all that is good and beautiful, man would enjoy more than threescore years and ten and still maintain his vigor, freshness, and promise" (p. 246). Being God's very expression, His perfect offspring, man reflects undiminishing vitality.

So what are some of the arguments that would lead us to doubt this spiritual truth? First, there's the notion that we're tied down—to a job, a bad situation, a grueling schedule—and simply can't express vigor and joy. There's the belief that man is loaded down with responsibility or guilt or fear or remorse, and so can't respond buoyantly to life.

But such oppressive conditions have no real hold on man. Man—and that includes all of us as we really are—is not, in truth, a material being who, after a relatively brief burst of energy, wears out like a car that's been driven too many miles. Man is completely and utterly spiritual, and God Himself is the source of man's vitality. Since God never wears out, neither does man. God forever radiates joy, peace, life, health, intelligence, and creativity. And man's very purpose is to express God's qualities.

God is not off somewhere, being omnipotent, while man is off somewhere else, being a vulnerable mortal. There's no disconnection between God and man. They're inseparable. God originates the qualities of good and man reflects them.

Getting a clear glimpse of these facts fills us with a sure joy. We feel the saving influence of Christ, Truth. Feelings of heaviness and discouragement drop away as we're renewed by the transforming power of the Christ.

Science and Health tells us: "Let us accept Science, relinquish all theories based on sense-testimony, give up imperfect models and illusive ideals; and so let us have one God, one Mind, and that one perfect, producing His own models of excellence.

"Let the 'male and female' of God's creating appear. Let us feel the divine energy of Spirit, bringing us into newness of life and recognizing no mortal nor material power as able to destroy. Let us rejoice that we are subject to the divine 'powers that be' " (p. 249).

The truth of man's oneness with God, embraced in thought, powerfully releases us from downward-pulling mortal beliefs. When Peter and John healed the man lame from birth, it's reported that "he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God" (Acts 3:8). Divine energy burst forth in radiant health.

When I was a little girl, I used to play outside for hours, skipping rope or just running around with my brothers. As a teen, I would turn on the radio and dance for hours. But as an adult, I found myself living a rather sedentary existence. A normal balance of activity didn't seem to be built into my life. I yearned for more variety, but I was at a loss as to how to work it into my schedule when the work that I loved so much took so much of my time and kept me physically inactive.

I began to break through the inertia as I got a clearer understanding of the freedom God gives man. God doesn't create man as a limited mortal locked into an unvarying routine. We read in Isaiah: "Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem .... Shake thyself from the dust; ... loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion" (52:1, 2). The prophet encouraged the Israelites in their Babylonian exile by reminding them that God, who had liberated them from bondage in Egypt, was still caring for them.

The truth of God's constant, loving care for man still holds today. If we ever find ourselves feeling boxed in or worn down, it's a clue that we need to identify ourselves more fully as God's ever-developing expression, inseparable from His joy and goodness.

So what happened to me? As I began to see that God wanted me to be joyous and to express vitality—that in fact He created me complete, and knew me as including every one of His qualities—I felt released and more energetic. I saw that any normal, legitimate activity could be an opportunity to glorify God actively. I now take walks nearly every day, during which I pray for others. Mrs. Eddy is quoted in a biography as saying that she had uttered some of her best prayers during her daily carriage rides (see Robert Peel, Mary Baker Eddy: The Years of Authority, p. 356). And I feel the same way about my prayerful walks!

Divine energy is boundless. It's constantly pouring forth, blessing man. Turning to God for the joy and strength we long for, feeling His presence and inspiration in prayer, we're filled with zest for life. And we naturally express it in enlivening and productive ways.