Beauty is Timeless

Youth is beautiful; I think we've gotten that message loud and clear.  But, like childhood and youth, the autumn years also hold amazing and breathtaking beauty.  Don't listen to the peddling of the cosmetic companies who tout their snake oil wares across the TV screen, telling you to fight signs of aging.  Ignore body manipulating doctors, who claim you can die at 80 years with a 20-year-old looking corpse.  Pity the celebrities who have had their skin and muscles pinched, pulled, and tucked multiple times in a sad effort to cling to an era their lives have moved past.

 

Aging is beautiful; as beautiful as youth and amazing in its own right.  There is a quiet dignity to simply being your age.  Your wrinkles are memories, each one mapping stories of loves or losses across the canvas of your face.  Silver hair glistens. 

 

There is nothing terrifying about growing old.  What's terrifying is having a grandma whose insecurities cause her to spend thousands of dollars competing with models half her age.  A father who wants to look younger than his sons.

 

It's such a confusing mindset our culture has swallowed, believing that once your youth has passed, your life has passed.

 

What are we missing out on by not embracing who we are right now?  The fact is, we are not who we once were nor should we want to be.  And the future us should be met with excitement, not dread. 

 

Below are some photos I find, not only beautiful, but more intriguing than any lie or airbrushed, young vixen.  That's the thing about aging with grace and dignity -- though your features change from what they were, you're still just as beautiful only now your face tells a story to strangers, the story of your life.  Wear it with pride and spirit; you have earned every wrinkle and every gray hair (or loss thereof.)

 

Enjoy; these faces hold more depth and story than you'll find on the cover of Cosmo:

Merriment ~ an ingredient not found in any anti-wrinkle cream. 
Her face simply radiates and her wrinkles add to the glow.

Great portrait.  His eyes are very sad though.

This woman looks so amazingly regal, like a majestic queen.

A man of the sea; now that's handsome no matter what the age.

I love that smile. 
It makes me grin back.

The eyes of this gentleman appear a little stern but they also seem to tell a story.

Ah, mother, lover, sister, wife. 
She could be all; life radiates from her face.

Stunning photo.

A well dressed city lady.
Everything about her is flawless.

Enjoying nature and soaking up the sun. 
Her white wisps are exquisite.

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sukanto_debnath/504258852/">Sukanto Debnath</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_lightwave/6687416689/">Rakesh JV</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/193145430/">Stuck in Customs</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilmoralee/12243870446/">Neil. Moralee</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/sukanto_debnath/513237831/">Sukanto Debnath</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/magdalenaroeseler/10344398703/">Magdalena Roeseler</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12392252@N03/2061993362/">Sailing "Footprints: Real to Reel" (Ronn ashore)</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrosimoes7/443738371/">pedrosimoes7</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasleuthard/5795330820/">Thomas Leuthard</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>

photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pedrosimoes7/69660648/">pedrosimoes7</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">cc</a>