Face Value.

In my long journey through time, people land, and life, I have seen many faces. Each has been owned by a man, woman, or child with their own foibles, truths, goodness, and more. Each face, save for a few twins I have known, has been unique to my eyes. In the hundreds, perhaps thousands of faces with which I have become intimate, I have always had a question. With each new face I behold, should I then go on to begin to know the owner, the question reasserts itself. That question is whether what comes from this face in the form of words, what they present as non-verbal communication, but further back their intent, is honest. Are they being genial to my face to laugh behind my back? Are they feigning false friendship for some gain, or simply because they do not know what else to do? Or, are they presenting what they are and what they feel? Pretty touchy feely for a monster, I know. Bear with me.

Throughout my walk here, I have explored various means of examining the intent behind the face. In the examination, I realized that the intent of the person had to be analyzed independently. Specifically, the person needed to be vetted as to their stability. If their intent at a moment was true yet their whole notion of things could spin on a dime, their intent was meaningless. Once this was all set, I began to look for methods of discerning intent and stability. There are methods to attain this knowledge. However, many of these methods are destructive to the acquaintanceship. Which left me wondering how to ensure who I was dealing with was leveling with me without pushing them away, or at least, pushing away the wrong ones.

Then it came to me. The friends I have are generally good people, to the best of my knowledge. There are family men, stray graduate or undergraduate bachelors, a unwed lady or two colors and delights my little life, and then there are family members, however close, convoluted in nature of relationship, or distant in relationship who grace my humble time here. As I reviewed things, I decided one of my best tools in deciding who to allow in was to base this decision on who they are, how they live, and what they do. This worked, and seemed good.

Yet, I kept digging. I suppose we all look for the silver bullets in life which will magically hit our stated target every time, even when we are off, having a bad day, or not really trying. There are no silver bullets, here. So I have changed my ways to some degree. I have decided to let the intent alone and accept what I receive from the faces I meet. If they secretly laugh, let them laugh. I hope it brings them joy and is done in a joyous manner, if not, they have a problem I cannot help them with by the nature of the problem. If they secretly hate, this is their sadness and emptiness, not mine. This has freed me from concerns which I cannot affect. It has allowed me to just enjoy a smile, share in a tear, or just enjoy the simply complex nature of those other creatures I call kindred. I think my Father is pleased. I think this is His will. In time, I think it will be the only way.