The face that we deserve

The other day I came across a quote (I can’t really tell you whose because when I looked it up it supposedly belonged to a number of people) that I find to be quite true: “At twenty you have the face that Nature gave you; at forty, you have the face that life has shaped; and at sixty you have the face that you deserve”. I would probably modify the decades a bit: I’d probably say twenty, fifty and seventy, given that we live longer and more active lives today, but let’s just stay with the original quote.

Youth, divine treasure, gives us a fresh and bright face, along with all the dreams and hopeful anticipation of what lies ahead; we are invincible and immortal. Then halfway along our lives we have already undergone good and bad experiences that have undoubtedly left their mark. We realize that we have already spent a good part of the time that has statistically been assigned to us and we begin to face our doubts and certain fears as to whether we’ll be able to complete what we had originally intended to do (although by this time we will have probably adjusted our plans to a more realistic idea); we can begin to see the results of some of the decisions and actions made in the previous years and are beginning to plan for the years we have left to live.

So now we come to the age that pertains to this blog… at this point in our lives, our faces reflect what our attitude towards life has been during these past years; we have come to terms with the good and the bad in our lives and we have tried to make the best possible balance of it all. Have we been able to maintain our illusions and our joy? Do we still want to learn new things and be amazed by all the wonderful things that surround us? If so, this will shine through in the twinkle in our eyes and in the way we smile. Is our smile quick and wide and from the bottom of our heart? Hopefully, most of the wrinkles we have come from all the laughing we did along the way. If we let ourselves be overcome by disappointment, pessimism, and by being negative, this will certainly be reflected on our faces. Our eyes will be dull, our smile will be slow, the corners of our mouths will be permanently turned down.

We should try to do everything in our power to deserve a face that reflects our joy of living, our enthusiasm and our inner peace.