They say that wrinkles remind us of our smiles. Therefore, each fold of our skin is a reflection of an unexpected happiness that we probably don’t even remember, but that brightened our lives in the most difficult moments.
There are wrinkles that preserve the beauty of the passing of time in their mystery. They contain the happiness lived throughout a lifetime. Our smiles wrinkle our face and make creases around our eyes, exercising great power and forging a gaze that is pure and noble and that fills us with goodness.
Beauty is that in which serenity peacefully resides. This creates an echo of our limitless ability to feel, accept, and enjoy our emotions.
“Leave all the wrinkles. Don’t cover up any of them. I have spent my whole life making them.”
-Anna Magnani to her make-up artist before every filming-
What is important is not to add years to life, but life to years
Our present has been sewn with the seeds of our past. For this reason, and given that it is impossible to rewind the hands of time, we must turn our present into a positive future.
Only we can achieve a full life for ourselves. Only we can take care of ourselves and enjoy each day. We are the people responsible for fighting our own battles and injecting our adventures with passion.
To add life to our years, we cannot let time pass us by. Therefore, we must be aware of the fact that each smile we share today will be a thing of pride when we look back on it from tomorrow.
“Years wrinkle the skin, but only the abandonment of enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Burdens, doubt, one’s own distrust, fear of hopelessness, are the years that make the heart crooked an drive a blooming spirit to the shadows.
A person may be sixteen or sixty, but the impulse of wonder, the gentle astonishment of the starry night sky, the challenge of experience, the childish appetite for life, will always reside in the human heart.”
-Anonymous-
Starting over with a new smile
Everything can turn out well at the moments when we least expect it. Each and every day we must decide if we will wear a smile or a face of sad disappointment. We are the ones who determine what is worth doing and what deserves happiness in our lives.
A person does not get old when their skin wrinkles, but rather when their hopes and dreams crease and fade. It has little to do with the amount of years that we have lived. In reality, the sum of our acts and our spirit comes down to how we carry out our goals and ideals.
Start with a clean slate and a new smile. I woke up one day and, as I didn’t know what to wear, I put on a smile. It is my lucky dress, my Sunday best.
We can put enthusiasm into everything in which we invest our time and that adds to our life. In turn, we can leave aside all that subtracts from it. Dismiss the mentality of “I can’t.” The more we enjoy all of that around us and that makes us smile, the greater our hearts and souls will be.
The glow of our face will grow and become stronger, making it so that we do not lose hope even if we lose strength. We must make every year of life a wrinkle in our skin. We must make each second become an eternity, and never relinquish the pleasure of feeling a gust of fresh air on our faces.
We must never let bitterness win the battle of our will. We must always see our lives with pride. We should smile at our lives and find a quiet place for our inner peace to reside. And we must always remember that we are enjoying a one-way trip.
Allow life to enchant you, treasure your memories, make the years twinkle, and let your skin remind of you of all those smiles you enjoyed so much.
Images courtesy of Natilles, David Padilla, and Nuvolanevicata
This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.
