Being enthusiastically engaged in life vs. biding time and being satisfied with merely existing is what I consider to be vibrant. It is a life-long attitude for most people. This, I think, is how we find our 'years' surprising. Family and society host generalized attitudes about age that are not very accurate. How could they be, when such notions are formed by younger people?

It has been a personal pleasure to have known or been acquainted with people (some famous), now passed, who were 'vibrant' into their nineties and even beyond.

A principle that applies to all life and particularly health and longevity was stated by my personal 'hero' and great scientist, Dr. Wilhelm Reich:

"Love, work and knowledge are the wellsprings of our life. They should also govern it."

Being 'social creatures', sharing of love on may levels, particularly with an intimate bond, nourishes our overall vitality.

Work is not to be confused with the toil so many of us perform, particularly early in life, in exchange for bread alone; in a process characterized by fatigue, an exchange of this for that wherein we often feel less for having done it. Work adds to us, inspires a craving for more; providing material satisfactions accompanied by personal edification in less tangible forms.

Knowledge, can be, but isn't necessarily a product of academic attendance. Degrees certify absorption of information. The testing ground for how much of it is actually factual is called life. That is to say, determining how much is actual knowledge... The challenge in gaining knowledge is to separate what is so from what isn't. That demands independent research and evaluation. There is no substitute. We are not in possession of our 'exploded' neocortex only to turn around and abdicate personal use in deference to or to dictate to others.

We are but one of lifes innumerable manifestations and the most advanced form of them on the planet. We are 'animated' by an energy that, unlike invisible gods, is both visible and quantifiable. We as reasoning creatures, don't necessarily have to KNOW life's intentions to consider how life functions demonstrate intentionality. Evolution itself comes to mind.

One last tidbit from Reich: "The act of thought is life comprehending it's own essence."

I believe that life optimizes itself by investing in what produces a return and withdraws from that which goes into stasis. To show vibrance places one in good health and good company.