Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.

Ageing gets sold as a problem to be concealed, as though a face ought to look as if nothing had happened to it. Another way to read a face is as a record, and the lines around the eyes and mouth are, in part, a map of how often you laughed. Not every mark is a happy one, and nobody needs to feel cheerful about getting older. Still, a face that shows a life has been lived is not a failure of maintenance.

Next time you catch yourself inspecting the mirror critically, notice which lines belong to expressions you actually like making. Spend some of today giving them more reason to deepen.