This Morning I was thinking while "putting on my face". As a woman this feat is accomplished by the use of foundation and makeup. In fact, I just bought my very first bottle of expensive Clinique foundation instead of the cheap drugstore stuff I usually buy. A good foundation can make all the difference in covering up my dark spots, dark circles, and wrinkles. I have these stupid smoker wrinkles around my mouth (even though I have never smoked) and a bunch of big dents in my forehead. I could try to burn them off with those acid type creams or maybe even pop for more expensive treatments, but for now, it's just easier to paint over them with my foundation brush. The flaws are still there, but it makes me feel better when I have made an effort to "do myself up" instead of going au naturale. My sister, mom, and daughter are so good at the whole packaging thing. My mom would NEVER go out in public without makeup- for her its a gesture of respect for herself and other people. It's her way of putting her best foot forward-or in this case it's the "face."
I've been thinking about how those dents/wrinkles etc. got on my face in the first place. Unfortunately it is not because I've been smiling too much throughout my life. If I had, my dents would be in different places. These little beauties I see every morning might be the result of years of stress, hard thinking, judgment, anger, disapproval, disgust, or something else I can't quite figure out. I just know it's not because I've been the face of peace and serenity. My face is my journal of my emotions for the last 51 years. It represents how I have chosen to react to life. It brings to mind the words to an old Burt Bacharach song "Reflection" from the movie Lost Horizon. "When you wake up each day-do you like what you see-if you like what you see-you're the person you should be- Cause your reflection reflects on everything you do-everything you do-reflects on you." If everything we choose shows up on our face, I believe we can choose our own emoticon; We can choose what face to put on-kind of like putting our "best face forward"
Just recently I heard how we cannot choose our gut reactions when something happens, but we can choose what we will emote-what we will send out- what emotion we will give to others. This is the emotional action we have control over. I use to get so mad at my husband when he told me I was choosing to feel upset etc, about various and sundry things. I would say- no this is just a normal reaction to when you do blank and blank. My reaction was a natural consequence for his choice. I did not "choose" to feel a certain way. But now I understand a little better what he was trying to communicate. I'm not trying to say fake it till I make it or pretend I'm happy when I'm not-cover up my misery with a smile. Obviously I have to process through my feelings and thoughts in an honest manner and deal with the underlining issues without glossing over everything. I have to be an expert problem solver. But to do that-I need fuel for thought. I need positive energy to power up to give me strength to problem solve and make the necessary changes in my life.
The choice to emote positive energy combined with a sincere smile is really a gift-to others and to myself. It increases my own positive outlook. It says, "Things will get better-it will be alright." When I think of positive energy-I think of the sun. It smiles down on me. It makes me feel warm. It lifts my spirit. It is full of the bright light I need to find my way-to see more clearly. Oh how we need to lift each other! Instead of a face lift, I need the lift that comes from a continual infusion of light. Faces fall off- that's just what they do with age. We're all turning into dirt. However, when I see old ladies up close while I do initiatory work in the temple, I never see their falling off faces-I only see light and beauty. That's how I want to be. A face full of light-kind of like when you are editing a photo and add more brightness to your image-almost everything looks better when you white it out, it covers all the flaws. Putting on a happy face is the best foundation ever (and cheaper).
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