If you want a true anti-aging miracle, wear sunscreen and be happy.

"A true antiaging miracle" by Christina Antus (CatholicMom.com)

Image credit: Pixabya.com (2016), CC0/PD[/caption] I don't care about what I look like these days.

Don't get me wrong: It's not that I don't care about my appearance, it's that my appearance isn't really worth caring about.
I don't mean that I gave up on practicing personal hygiene — although some days I do forget to brush my teeth until 4:00 PM.
I don't mean showing up everywhere in my fleece pants and scruffy hair — although it is my preferred attire.
I don't mean not using lip gloss or eye-liner — although most mornings I'm too tired and lazy to put those on too.

What I mean, is that it's not worth investing thousands of dollars into trying to look younger when I'm going to get old anyway. Using expensive facial creams made with bird droppings or fibers cultured from a placenta that promise to trigger skin cell activity are as far-fetched as ... well ... anti-aging products. I'm too cheap to get laser hair removal and I no longer care about applying foundation on a daily basis — especially in summer when it feels like wearing a second face. The sun is hot here, and the damage is real. When you wear glasses and a hat, no one is looking at your foundation anyway. I won't entertain gels, creams, or cryotherapy as a substitution for exercise and I don't see why you can't have a second slice of pie. Or a third. Heck, eat the whole thing. The global anti-aging market was worth $250 billion two years ago and is estimated to reach $331.41 billion by 2021. That's so much pie. While business is all well and good for the people who make the product, creams and injections only go as far as how long you're alive and young enough to not age. They don't really prevent you from aging. No product can firm 60-year-old skin so it's 25 again. Besides, once you're dead, you'll have spent it all for nothing. You won’t have crow’s feet because bone doesn't wrinkle when you flash that eternal grin. Botox won’t enhance your spiritual goal. Bare Minerals can do nothing for the condition of your skin once it starts to decompose. Beauty really is only skin deep and there is no such thing as an old soul. Maybe that's why we never really feel any older at 40 than we did at 23 — despite being able to slap our underarms and watch them roll like a storm wave in motion. My point is that we all get old — if we're blessed enough to live that long. So, why not just embrace the fact that you get another day to live and each stage of life has something to offer us. If you want a true anti-aging miracle, wear sunscreen and be happy. Find the joy in your life, even when it's not going great — it's always there. There is no better fountain of youth than being positive, practicing kindness, love, and laughter. Plus, it's free. And painless. Get your smokey eye look on. Go have a spa day. Tell yourself how pretty you look today (and believe it). Go forth and bring happiness into your world and everyone who crosses your path. Laugh at yourself. Laugh at stress. Laugh at things you can't control. Laugh at memories if the present just isn't funny. Happiness is an anti-aging secret that not a single supermodel exhibits when she walks down the runway. But you don't have to look like her. You can be happy because you can eat fast food and can have a second slice of pie, or a third. Enjoy what you have. Love who you are. Find your happy because there is joy, no matter how hard life gets — it's always there. You can absolutely keep the jar of anti-aging cream, but just remember two things: it's only skin deep and have that second slice of pie. Heck, eat the whole thing.