Aging is a part of life. Nevertheless, we use creams and surgeries to combat wrinkles and grey hair. But we could make things much easier for ourselves.
We all want to grow old, but none of us wants to be old. Instead, we dream of eternal youth, smear ourselves with anti-aging creams until we can’t take it anymore, use tints and colored pencils to combat graying hair, and if necessary, go under the plastic surgeon’s knife to get a youthful face. A little Botox here, a syringe full of hyaluronic acid there, and the skin is as smooth as a baby’s bottom again. Permanent youth is one of the defining beauty ideals of our time – but a change of perspective could make aging much easier for us than any anti-aging product.
It’s true: we all age. Every day we wake up, every breath we take, every conversation we have with other people, every thought that pops into our heads – in every millisecond that passes, we get a little bit older. And so do everyone else. It’s not just us who get wrinkles or grey hair, but also our friends and our parents. When the people we have known and loved since childhood suddenly stand in front of us with hunched backs and white hair, we are painfully reminded of our mortality.
Aging properly is not an art
It’s no wonder, then, that we would prefer to make the signs of time invisible and resort to the craziest methods to do so. Who hasn’t wanted to press the stop button and celebrate life in eternal youthful energy? It’s not for nothing that scientists have been researching ways to significantly extend our lives and our youth for many years – even to the point of immortality. But we forget one important thing: our transience is what makes life valuable. If we had an infinite amount of time at our disposal, it would almost not matter what we spent it on.
In the whirlwind of everyday life, we sometimes forget that we (probably) only have one life – and that it will end at some point, for better or for worse. Looking in the mirror can remind us that time passes – with every new wrinkle or grey hair we discover on ourselves. At the same time, the face that no longer looks quite so youthful and smiles at us in the mirror also shows us everything we have already experienced.
Every scar, every wrinkle, every grey hair, every dent and every sagging patch of skin is also a witness to our own life. If we look at our body a little more lovingly, we can discover memories of the most beautiful and moving moments of our lives in our face. Every hearty laugh has made our laugh lines deeper, every worry has made our frown lines grow – our aging face also reflects the highs and lows of our life.
Why Botox is not a good idea
In short: We should definitely stop demonizing wrinkles per se and trying to cover up the visual signs of aging by any means possible. The fact that a youthful appearance is considered the ideal of beauty means that as we get older we have to choose between natural authenticity and supposed aesthetics. Because after a certain age, it is no longer enough to help yourself with a little hyaluronic acid; then the only thing that helps against wrinkles is going to a plastic surgeon – and that turns a real face into a run-of-the-mill facade. And that is actually something that we all resist: being like everyone else. Instead, many of us secretly hope that visual rejuvenation will take us on a journey back in time to the supposedly carefree past, when the world was still our oyster.
To come up with another platitude: In the end, it’s the inner values that count in this context too. In other words: instead of fighting aging with creams and wrinkle treatments, we could try to enjoy life for as long as possible. For example, by spending a lot of time with good friends, not taking everyday life too seriously and allowing ourselves breaks to reflect on what our life is really all about. Most of the time, it’s not the supposedly flawless, wrinkle-free face, but the moments in which we manage to really be there: feeling the first rays of sunshine on our face in the morning, smelling the rain and hearing the birds chirping, fooling around with our partner, dancing the night away or simply reading a good book with good music.
Feeling young inside ultimately gives us so much more quality of life than just looking young. However, this is also a privilege that we can enjoy until we reach such an old age that our bodies inevitably show signs of deterioration that go beyond grey hair. When our heads no longer function properly or our bodies lose energy, when our bones become brittle and we need help to leave the house, only then do we know what aging can really mean. These are the dark sides of old age, but no anti-aging product in the world can help against them.
We all want to grow old, but nobody wants to be old. However, studies show that how quickly we age depends largely on chance. A healthy lifestyle can help us stay fit for longer – but we shouldn’t forget to enjoy life every now and then. After all, it’s no use living to 100 if we have to live a life of sacrifice. So aging isn’t really the problem, but our perspective on it. If we manage to look at the changes in our bodies with gratitude, we will be able to deal with them more calmly. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll even learn to see the wrinkles on our faces as a sign of the fullness of our lives.
Source: Stern
I’m Caroline, a journalist and author for 24 Hours Worlds. I specialize in health-related news and stories, bringing real-world impact to readers across the globe. With my experience in journalism and writing in both print and online formats, I strive to provide reliable information that resonates with audiences from all walks of life.
