I sat quietly in a doctor's reception area and listened to two older ladies discussing plastic surgery. When they noticed me listening they even asked for my opinion. Consequently, the honest talk about breast enhancement, tummy tucks, Botox injections and lip plumping made me think about beauty and the beliefs associated with it.

If there is one definite prediction in life, it is that we will all eventually get older. As of today, to the best of my knowledge, science has not yet discovered a magical formula for the "fountain of youth" to keep us young forever. Our physiological structure is built around the natural decay of the human cell, and as such, aging is an unavoidable process.

In the past we used to criticize women going through breast enlargement, liposuction, nose jobs, eyebrow lifts and other cosmetic surgeries, most of which I don't even know how to pronounce. Today, when it is not uncommon for sixteen-year-old girls to have breast augmentations and when your elderly neighbor regularly comes home from a "Botox" party with no wrinkles on her face, we accept it as normal.

I have been thinking about my conversation with the two older ladies at the doctor's reception area. After all, why not do something that makes one feel better? Why is plastic surgery bad if a person feels better about him/herself after an operation? My personal opinion has always been that older and younger people are all beautiful, and that beauty changes relative to their age. A seventy-year-old woman can be attractive and beautiful even if she hasn’t gone through any surgery whatsoever. At the same time, if she decides to enlarge her breasts to establish "more presence," then who are we to judge whether she should or shouldn't?!

Lately I have been working out and swimming regularly. It always amuses me to notice the guys in the dressing room passing by the mirrors after the shower. There is a consistency in the manner in which each one of us looks at the mirror when we pass by. Quite often there is pride and an awe of satisfaction in the eyes. I find myself smiling and thinking how natural and gratifying it is to feel healthy in one's body. But, what can we do that some of us hate working out and others are unsatisfied with the body that God gave them. How can we blame or criticize a human being who, with the help of the surgeon's knife, can achieve a younger look? Interesting food for thought…

Yoram Yahav
CEO