We stand in front of a mirror to wash our face, brush our hair, apply our makeup. We are looking at our reflection as we do each one of those tasks. And we see our reflection in that mirror. Sometimes we just might approve of what we see looking back at us. Occasionally, we might shrink away from the reflected image. Our mood and the little workings of our mind seem to dictate which way it will be.
We have mirrors, photographs, films...each one telling us and others a little bit about us at that particular moment. It might be a fleeting moment, but it is captured permanently or for a mere few seconds. We can never fully capture the depth of a person via those means.
How many times have we put on a nice smile for the person with a camera, and the resulting photograph portrayed a seemingly happy individual? To the casual observer, it does appear to be the case. Ah, but we know otherwise. We view the picture, and we can see that our smile did not reach our eyes. Genuine smiles always reach the eyes, casting a bit of a twinkle in them. Only we and those who love and know us well can see the real emotion that photograph has caught.
Yet, we keep on trying to fool ourselves.
3 comments:
That is one cool photo. The view from within the window to the soul. We are such fleeting creatures, changing from momemt to moment...always growing or shrinking. Sandi http://journals.aol.com/sdoscher458/LifeIsFullOfSurprises
We fool nobody with our fake smiles Nikki. Those who do not know our true smiles are either indifferent for lack of barely knowing who we are, or they truly do not care. But, we know...our loved ones know...and our precious smiles are perhaps greater in value because we do know the difference...once those lips truly curl into that beautiful gesture that takes so many less muscles to create then a frown, ones our eyes are twinkling with that special sparkle, and our hearts beat strongly in our chests....our true smile illuminates the room.
No single snapshot - be it a literal picture or a memory of a moment - can truly define a person. No matter how accurate the image at the time, the soul is always shifting within - and only through time and experience and varying circumstances can we truly know the person. But there are people worth that effort - people whose lives enrich our own, people whose twinkling eyes can brighten our own days. And you are one of those people, Nikki.
Rob
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