The Fountain of Youth (Elixir of Life)

My father was a Taoist, for whom the study of good health, long life, if not immortality, is a basic objective of their studies, and so I was very disappointed to see that his knowledge failed him as he reached into his 90s.

So it was quite natural for me to take this study further in asking the more practical and achievable question of whether it was possible to live a long life without the ravages of age and its afflictions that we accept as the inevitable -- because we run out of solutions for the problems and challenges of our daily living, which we invariably attribute to the catch-all, aging process.

Until we reach that point, we think it is merely a matter of discovering a yet undiscovered secret -- and seeking the many experts, gurus, and keepers of the great truths, until we feel we have seen and heard it all -- and nothing makes a difference that matters anymore.

But through the present miracle of the Internet, we now can easily access the collective knowledge and intelligence -- if only we know how.

As a historian (archivist) by training and disposition, I like to research the beginnings of ideas, and have evolved throughout the history of thought -- which is actually my specialty. And so I have this particular and unique sense of history and time more than most -- who seem to forget or were conscious that things were not always that way. Most live and think in that temporal vacuum -- of time not being bound to any other. But for the historian, what happened ages ago, seems relevant to the present, evolved, and is manifested in the present -- as the summation of all (previous) thought.

One of the oldest themes for the justification of knowledge and thought, is the desire and belief, that there is some kind of magical potion, that conveys to its possessor, optimal good health -- the fountain of youth, or the elixir of life, and of course, life abundant and everlasting in all its versions.

In more contemporary times, for the past 80 years, that was promised in the iconic commercials promising "fast relief" for the most common afflictions of contemporary life -- which were (head)aches and pains, digestive upset, and even the general blahs -- before they were forced to cut back on their unquantifiable claims. But for most of the generation now alive, they were at least aware of the commercials that mostly ran, "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz. Oh what a relief it is." That was the last of the golden age of patent medicine home remedies -- before Big Pharma took over, and promised super cures (drugs) for highly specialized diseases and conditions -- all unrelated to one another, as though such a thing were possible. But that was the new paradigm of the 20th century of increasing specialization and fragmentation of life -- that made it easily incomprehensible to most as the norm, if not the ideal.

But as a lifelong arthritic having to take some kind of pain reliever to make it through each day, I had to accept that the accompanying digestive upset was one of the tradeoffs one had to make -- until I thought to try the old Alka-Seltzer bromide mainly out of desperation because nothing else worked anymore -- immediately or temporarily, much less indefinitely. That it worked at all, piqued my curiosity to research it further, leading me to realize it was the fountain of youth -- in a tablet.

Throughout history, people have noted the curative (restorative) effect of certain spring (mineral) waters that people have bathed as well as drank, to cure a multitude of ills and conditions. That is the basis for the notion of the fountain of youth, and the miraculous curing (restorative) waters -- that are essentially naturally occurring Alka-Seltzer. But what gives Alka-Seltzer its added potency, is that it is a way in which many who cannot tolerate aspirin (a highly effective pain reliever) in its usual forms, can actually access it -- because it is buffered, and in solution, rather than irritating, concentrated pill form. And when many more can tolerate aspirin, it obviates the need for other pain relievers, including alcohol and addicting (prescription) drugs -- which are much more costly but frequently preferred because they are covered by one's health care or drug plan -- while economical, sensible and more effective choices have to be borne by oneself, and so many will be misguided by that decision.