This morning, drinking coffee in my sitting room, enjoying the new day, and thinking about my age at 73, how difficult it is to keep the wrinkles off my face at this late date. Then I came to realize - it's all vanity.

Anti Aging means, "the desire to prevent the appearance, process, and effects of getting older." No, anti aging is not all about beauty and looks, but this blog is speaking of 'striving' and 'struggling' to "look" younger. Which in truth, is all vanity.

Sometimes I look in the mirror and I don't see a big change, and sometimes, OH my goodness, who is that stranger staring back at me in that mirror.

Then I thought, it is peace that we all desperately want, more than anything else, yet we struggle and strive to prevent the wrinkle and age spot demons from stealing more of the looks of our youth.

We all want to think we are the most beautiful woman in the world, but that thought is only skin deep, a figment of our imagination, and all vanity.

We used to hear people tell us how beautiful we were, and how they wish they will look like us when they get that age, and people used to turn their heads and smile when we walked by, but no more - how in the world will we survive. Yes indeed, it is all vanity.

Yes, there are injections, and fillers, and face lifts, and many other plastics that we can succumb too, but is that really what we want to do? Not I. I have seen first hand what some of those things can do to destroy the real you. And, if you're not satisfied with how you look, you won't be pleased long after you've been knifed, jabbed, and hooked.

While going under the knife for elective cosmetic surgery, Joan Rivers died at the age of 81. Her plastic surgeon said, "As a plastic surgeon, almost everything we do is elective." Not to mention that before she died, she could barley smile or even talk because her skin was so tight.

The plastics of Hollywood dis-formed people's natural look and altered them into plastic "Human dolls," without an expression on their face at all. In addition, the corners of the lips are stretched tightly up, and the results are now called "joker face." The skin on the face is stretched, pulled, and tightened, and what are the consequeces of such vanity? An unnatural plastic looking face.

And those who were transformed into the monster look, by a bad surgeon, with horrible pain, numbness and paralysis, and even worse, are weeping and gnashing their teeth. We all know that all surgical procedures carry huge risks.

So How Do We Keep Ourselves Young And Beautiful For All The World To See?

The answer is - we don't. That is the height of vanity. We take care of our health, our minds, our bodies, and yes, our skin, be we don't loose track of who we really are. We work on our inner selves and get rid of the insecurities that keep us from knowing and loving who we really are.

When you age and become mature and secure, you don't even notice if people are looking at you or not. And it doesn't matter one way or the other.

We relax and look at life not with rose colored glasses, (self-deceptive bias), but with eyes of truth, in the light of reality.

You are going to get old. You are going to die. But, you can get older and die much faster by worrying and struggling to stay young looking all your life. When all we care about is how great we look and don't go deeper, we become shallow and when we get old, we become nothing more than shallow old people, alone and forlorn. Because no one wants to be around shallow people, especially old ones.

Wake Up Call

It is better to start young and work on your insecurities, than when you get old, because it is a lot of work and takes time.

Living up to unrealistic standards that are impossible to reach, you set your self up for unnecessary stress, frustration, pressure, and more.

We live in an egotistical generation, where vanity has escalated with all of Hollywood and social media's competitiveness. But those who aren't insecure know that you don't have to compete with anyone. You are at peace with who you are, what you look like, and what you do.

That my friend will keep you younger than anyone with facelifts, fillers, and injections. And you will enjoy your golden years far more than anyone who is saddened and forlorn by the loss of their younger looks.

Learn to be secure in the skin your in because as Dr Phil says, "When you turn 40 you'll see lines and wrinkles forming. By the time your 50, you'll see more. By the time you're 60 they will come readily, and at 70 they escalate."

The Good News

You Can still look younger by taking care of your skin. That's is still Very important. Maybe you won't look like you're 20 or 30 again when you're 60 or 70, but you will still have a good complexion and your skin will continue to protect you from all the environmental stressors that are out there in the world.

Don't give up, instead find a good quality, affordable skin care regime to keep your skin from causing you all kinds of sickness's and disease, and to help you maintain beautiful skin.

And exfoliate at least 2 times a week so your skin care products can penetrate your skin, because as you grow older, the tougher and rougher your skin will get. And nothing will work if you don't regularly get rid of that old dead skin.

Conclusion

C'est la vie to the struggles and competition of your youth, and rest and enjoy the years you have here on earth. Think peace, be at peace, and love your life, no matter your age.

And always remember, "It's Vanity, vanity of vanities." Once that has been laid to waste, you will truly look younger than what you actually are. Being at peace will help smooth out your lines and wrinkles, and keep you healthy and full of vigor for the rest of your life.