Whats in a Face?

Whats in a Face?

Everything!

I am a twin registered with the twin registry, we do tests occasionally. (Peter/Mediator Barrister, Essendon supporter and all round good bloke) Have just done a test rating attractiveness. As the faces and scenes flashed before me I was thinking that all these people have a story and their faces are telling it. Pain, suffering,curiosity, tenderness, surprise it was all there. But deeper then that the faces were etched, sculptured by their nature,  soul or inner self .

Peaceful people were peaceful, kind people were kind, hurt people were hurt, bitter people were bitter...
Our faces tell the careful viewer who we are, how we are, what we are, and maybe even what we are going to be. WOW that is powerful.

Being social animals, I guess the role of faces in evolutionary terms is to pass on feelings to our group, clan or tribe, so that they can respond accordingly. It is up to us to take the time to look. I mean look beyond the superficial and see the real person the real face.

Some cultures "save face" at any cost and all of us do this to some degree. This can be confusing, but that in itself is a sign of that persons insecurity and vulnerability. We have to be astute enough to understand this, in ourselves and in others.

As a writer and observer it is a good thing to look beyond the mask and see the real face, the real person, I need to practise this. Thanks Twin Registry.

PS.
A while ago I was at a party and happened to be seated haphazardly. Directly opposite was a woman  careless in statement and slurred in speech. Next to me was a couple who spoke in monosyllables if at all. The woman opposite was obviously on the other side of an induced high, and she got lower by the minute. The couple would not engage at all and continued to speak in monosyllable despite all my promptings and efforts to engage.

But it was their faces that got to me, the lady opposite was a mask of delusion created by some introduced substance, but the inner face showed through as kind and decent, even attractive. The man from the couple showed boredom, indifference and fear all at the same time. But above all it showed fear, fear of what I do not know but real fear that crowded out everything else. The lady from the couple face had been attractive once. But now it was being eaten out by something, it was consuming her devouring her, and she was not strong enough to stand up to it, her eyes were large and luminous against a necrotic wasted face.

As soon as I decently could I moved away from them and went on to have a good time at the party. (Not very Christian I know , but then I had tried) But their faces are still their with me, there is a story here but then there is always a story, we just have try and  tell it.