by Louise L. Hay: Cheryl: Have you always had such a curiosity about life? Are you always observing your thoughts and actions and making adjustments?

Louise: I do have a curiosity about life, and it has helped me stay young at heart. Very much so. I love to take classes, I love to study, and I love to learn new things. I’m waiting for something interesting to come my way now so I can take a new class. I also listen to people a lot—what they say, how they express themselves. I’m very curious about people as well as how I talk to myself. The more we listen to ourselves and make positive changes based on what we discover, the more interesting life becomes.

Cheryl: Listening to your wisdom, I’m convinced that it’s your insatiable curiosity about life, about people, and about yourself that contribute to why you’ve aged so well. When we love learning—when we’re committed to our own personal growth and then back up that commitment with action—we stay engaged with life in a purposeful and fulfilling way. We feel more connected to ourselves, each other, and the larger source of energy called Life. Things just seem to flow as we live in alignment with our essence, the part of us that is timeless and endless.

I am curious as to what beliefs have served you as you aged.

Louise: I believe that I am a big, strong, healthy girl with lots of good energy. I am so pleased to have the energy I do, to be able to live the life I do, and to enjoy the company of fabulous friends. I believe that Life loves me. I believe that I am safe at all times. I believe that only good experiences lie before me, and I bless others and know that Life blesses and prospers me. I know that all is well in my world.

I also believe that laughter is more important than worrying about wrinkles. I find myself laughing more. Fewer things bother me. As a matter of fact, I feel freer than I did when I was a child. It’s as though my good thoughts have returned me to a state of innocence that feels blissful. I kid myself and make jokes more often these days. I have cultivated a mental outlook that allows me to see life from the most positive advantage. This positive, loving, grateful, joyous outlook attracts to me the greatest life—and that’s why this is the best decade so far.

Cheryl: And what about your spiritual beliefs? What role do they play in your life now?

Louise: It’s interesting. I grew up with absolutely no religion at all, and it was probably one of the best things that happened to me. I didn’t have to unlearn anything. When I was introduced to the metaphysical world at the Church of Religious Science, it made so much sense to me—the belief that we are all expressions of Divine Intelligence, and when we align ourselves with this intelligence, we can create a desired outcome. I used to go to church a lot, and I absorbed the teachings. But today my garden is my church. I go out and work there, and I find peace. If there’s a fantastic minister or teacher speaking nearby, I may want to go and hear them, but I’ve heard a lot already. Now I live it.