依我此刻的生命觀，中年從五十歲開始，老年則以八十歲為起點。四十歲時，我極不喜歡被說成「中年人」；六十五歲後，對於媒體將六十五歲稱為「老伯」，我打心底拒絕。

記得四十歲生日當天，時任雜誌總編的我，與編輯群討論當月「編輯室輕鬆談」的主題，眾人一致拍板：「歲月不饒人」。他們無一人年過三十，對他們來說，四十歲就是「很老」的代名詞。於是，他們大膽開起我的玩笑，連祝賀卡片也都以「歲月不饒人」作為開場白。

我總認為，自己的人生是從五十歲開始，那是攀登第二座人生山峰的起點。儘管這個年齡在年輕人眼中早已「超齡」，對我而言，卻是重新定義生命意義的時刻。

不得不承認，「中年危機」確實存在於那幾年的生命記憶中，表面上我一如往常的沉穩自持，內在卻頻頻徘徊、尋找方向。

 

為何「危機」多在中年浮現？許多人認為，那是因為人至中年仍一事無成。而我則深刻體會，它源於靈性的焦慮。

就如年邁的父母看到子女未成家立業，嘴上總免不了叨唸一句：「都幾歲的人了，還在混！」

我中年時的焦慮，大多來自母親的碎唸。她總愛拿我與同學相比，彷彿我永遠比不上人，只能羞愧的想找個地洞躲起來。

但其實，比母親更焦急的，是我體內那個早已甦醒的元神，不是急於超越他人，而是渴望我能夠超越自己。

我在人生不同階段多次接收到來自元神的引導，卻在中年危機風暴四起時，未能及時靜下心來與真正的自己對話。

那段時光的記憶猶在，母親那句「錢四腳、人兩腳」像咒語般不斷追趕著我。靈性如同籠罩濃霧，身體像在人間漂流，找不到歸屬。

 

所謂「回家的路」，並不是母親所期望的那條成功大道，而是我內心真正渴望的歸屬感。從那一刻起，我決定放棄追逐金錢的執念，轉而走上追尋自己的路。

「家」其實就住在自己身上，當我學會與自己相處，生命的意義才真正浮現。那是一段從模糊到明朗的歷程，我從學員的回饋中領悟感動的起點，也從志工的角色中領悟謙卑的心念。

人生的轉彎往往來自難以預料的背景因素，某種無以名狀的責任感，突然降臨在我身上，中年的不安悄然消退，開始從工作中獲得深刻的滿足感。

寫書，不是為了賺錢；授課，也不是為了鐘點費。我在日常工作中找到了價值與成就，那種喜樂感，讓我每天安然入眠。

也正是在這樣的領悟中，我寫下了那篇「每天都往高處走」，期勉自己在人生的進程中，不再原地踏步。那篇文章之後，又過了十年。

 

生理年齡是否可控？斷食給了我答案。我在書中以數學的「漸近線」為喻，描繪生命終點愈行愈遠的狀態。

說「透過斷食找到了自己」，常見許多聽者面露疑惑，我必須進一步說明：為自己在這世間留下清晰的痕跡，是每個人都該認真思考的課題。

有些學員，是先找到自己，再來研修斷食。他們意志堅定，明確知道為何而來。他們的定位早已清晰，不再被金錢束縛，只為追求生命更深的圓滿。

再回頭看「中年危機」，圖像變得更清晰，那是無法作主自己人生的人容易陷入的狀態。這是一種廣泛的人性展現，很難承認自己不認識自己，但元神的焦慮洶湧如潮。

當養生教育與商業糾纏不清，便形同一個被物慾操縱的軀體，當我們的目標轉向與下一代的連結與傳承，必能超越世俗與傳統的枷鎖。

畢竟，對於「幸福」與「生命」的定義，進入身體之道，和自己在一起之後，早已截然不同。

 

（做你自己，就能改變世界。）

 

No Matter the Age—Live as Your True Self

According to my current perspective on life, I define middle age as beginning at fifty, and old age at eighty. When I turned forty, I strongly disliked being labeled “middle-aged.” And after sixty-five, I found myself instinctively rejecting the way media referred to people of that age as “old men.”

I still remember the day I turned forty. At the time, I was the editor-in-chief of a magazine, and our editorial team was discussing the monthly column “Casual Talk from the Editor’s Room.” The team unanimously decided on the topic: “Time Spares No One.” None of them were over thirty, and to them, forty was synonymous with “old.” Boldly, they made me the subject of their jokes—even the birthday card opened with that phrase.

I’ve always believed that my life truly began at fifty—that was the starting point of climbing my second life mountain. Though in the eyes of younger people that age may already seem “past due,” for me, it marked a redefinition of life’s meaning.

I won’t deny that a “midlife crisis” existed during those years. On the surface, I appeared as composed as ever, but internally, I often felt lost—uncertain of my direction.

Why does “crisis” so often emerge in midlife? Many say it’s because people have reached that age without achieving anything significant. But I’ve come to see that it stems from a deeper, spiritual anxiety. Much like aging parents who look at their grown children still drifting and cannot help but sigh, “You’re not young anymore—why are you still wasting time?”

In my case, most of my midlife anxiety came from my mother’s nagging. She often compared me to others, making me feel as if I was constantly falling short. I would want nothing more than to crawl into a hole in shame.

But in truth, the one more anxious than my mother was the awakened essence within me—not eager to surpass others, but yearning for me to transcend myself.

Throughout different phases of life, I received guidance from this inner self. But during the height of my midlife storm, I failed to quiet down and engage in honest dialogue with who I really was.

That period still lives in my memory. My mother’s saying—“Money has four legs, people only have two”—chased me like a spell. Spiritually, I was shrouded in mist; physically, I wandered the world without a sense of belonging.

The so-called “way home” was never the road to success that my mother hoped for, but rather the sense of belonging my soul truly yearned for. From that moment, I gave up my obsession with chasing money and chose instead to follow the path of becoming myself.

“Home,” I realized, is within. Only when I learned to be with myself did the meaning of life begin to emerge. It was a process of moving from confusion to clarity—a transformation sparked by the feedback from students and the humility I learned as a volunteer.

Life’s turning points often arise from unexpected circumstances. A sense of unnamable responsibility descended upon me, and with it, my midlife restlessness began to fade. I started to feel deeply fulfilled in my work.

I write not for money, and I teach not for the hourly pay. In my daily work, I found value and a sense of accomplishment—joy that allowed me to sleep peacefully each night.

It was in this spirit that I wrote the piece “Climbing Higher Every Day”, urging myself not to remain stagnant in life’s journey. That essay was written ten years ago.

Can we control our biological age? Fasting gave me an answer. In my book, I used the mathematical concept of an “asymptote” to illustrate a life whose endpoint keeps receding into the distance.

When I say “I found myself through fasting,” some people appear puzzled. I often have to clarify: leaving behind a clear imprint of oneself in this world is a question everyone ought to ponder deeply.

Some students first found themselves and then came to study fasting. Their determination was unwavering; they knew exactly why they came. Their sense of identity was already clear—they were no longer bound by money but moved only by the pursuit of a deeper sense of wholeness.

Looking back, the image of the “midlife crisis” is now much sharper: it’s a state easily fallen into when one lacks authorship over their own life. It’s a widespread human condition—one difficult to admit, for it means confronting the fact that we don’t truly know ourselves. And when the soul stirs with restless urgency, it floods like a rising tide.

When wellness education becomes entangled with commercial interests, it resembles a body manipulated by material desire. But when our goals shift toward connection with and legacy for the next generation, we can transcend worldly constraints.

After all, once we enter the path of the body, once we learn to be with ourselves, the definitions of “happiness” and “life” are no longer the same.