Hitting 40

I've always thought 40 was old. I mean that was how I saw it when I was in my teens. But here I am now, light years away from teenage-hood and but a mere 2 years to 40.

No, 40 is not old. Not at all. While it seems people you come across with are getting younger and younger, one cannot discount the fact that there are still a lot of people a lot older than you are. At this age, one can still do many things. Launch a new career. Move to another country. Switch faiths. Fall in love again. A lot of better things to do. Other than obsessing about looking younger.

Yes, younger. Simply because today's women, poor us, are bombarded with a steady stream of propaganda that shuns aging and the wrinkles and marks that come alongside it. (Talk about emancipation of the female species!) "It's okay to be 40 as long as you look 30," goes a line from a TV ad. What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Is it not okay to be 40 if you look it? Or is it not okay to be 40 per se?

What in the world is wrong with 40? Frankly, I don't see any reason to fuss about turning 40 or 50 or 60 for that matter. Aging is a natural process that comes hand in hand with living. Only the dead stop getting older, right?

Okay, if it's the looks department you're worried about — sure, you've got a point. But hey, one doesn't have to take this age-defying business a little too seriously. Your costly cream erases one line on your forehead, another one manifests itself. No overpriced high-tech concoction can ever stop the hands of time, no matter what.

And the good news, these brand campaigns are totally missing something. Like, it's not impossible to be beautiful even if you look your age. Lines, crow's feet, dark spots and all.

Because when you're a little older — and yes, wiser — beauty ceases to be skin deep. It starts to emanate from within. And please, I'm not trying to be anything here. It's just that, when you're 40, you're no longer a girl, obviously. So it's not about pretty-ness anymore. It's all about character. Substance.

So what if your face is unmarked by age if you haven't made a single mark in anybody's life? So what if you take good care of your skin if you haven't cared for anyone other than yourself?

Come on.