‘With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come” –Shakespeare
Cosmetic companies will be aghast at this quote. Their multi
billion dollar business will end if women all over the world come to terms with
their wrinkles. Isn’t it?
I need not go into the details of how the eternal youth
concept has permeated in our life. How every middle aged woman, instead of
celebrating her womanhood and the acquired wisdom that comes along, feels
insecure because she is going to be passed over for promotion by a younger face
or she can not get a decent job because she has fine lines.
Life brings ups and downs for every one. We laugh and we
cry, we feel ecstasy and we go down in the dumps, we enjoy the heady romance
and cry at our heartbreak. All this goes hand in hand. As we age, we acquire
insights, which were absent in our youth and these insights help us in
navigating this treacherous journey called life with much more ease and
comfort. And we also gain some weight and some fine lines and wrinkles along
the way.
In eastern cultures, old age is revered. The elders are a
constant source of guidance. They are respected for their wisdom and the wealth
of experiences. There are no
psychiatrists, no counsellors. Family turns to the patriarch or the matriarch
to solve problems. But in the west, old age has come to be feared. One has to
look young and slim all the time. The consumerist culture has turned the
celebration of age into a scary experience.
The joy of watching your children grow, accompanied by
sleepless nights in their teenage, is incomparable. The happiness of spending a
quite evening with your partner is unparalleled. These are treasures that we
cherish and these bring lines and wrinkles on our face. The age is unstoppable.
I remember the universal grandmother of my lane. She was everyone’s granny and
we loved the way she would always smell like sandalwood. Her wrinkle-lined face
was so radiant, so beautiful. She was the person to go to if anyone was sick or
had a minor fracture or was wounded. She had a remedy for it. Our parents
touched her feet and we all would get a candy every time we saw her.
So this obsession with looking young is quite crazy. I do
agree that as I am aging I miss my clear face and my slim figure. And I try all
the natural remedies to have a tight skin. But I would never spend thousands of
dollars to have cosmetic surgery. I am happy with my crow’s feet and my slight
double chin. I finally know who I am and enjoy my company. My fine lines are
the result of my determination to go on in the face of adversity and my
wrinkles are a reminder to me of the laughter I have shared with my husband
over the years.
I celebrate my age. Do you?
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