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Tue 28 Jul, 2009 02:03 pm
First, I see an incredibly handsome dude! (OUT, OUT ego!).
I see the face that carries features of my mom, and dad, and sister, and brother, and grandparents, and cousins. I have my mom’s eyes, hazel-brown (and two of them, by the way!) my dad’s forehead and brow, mom’s nose and cheeks, dad’s chin and jaw. And my ears… well, somewhere Yoda slipped silently into the gene pool.
But beyond, or deeper than that, I see the representation that “I” am to the world of other people. It is not “I” as I see myself, but as others see me. And I understand this, that my “Me” is not the “Me” that others see.
This revelation starts me to thinking that when I see a face, it is not the person, but a mask. Just as my own face is. When I see my face, it causes me to pause and think about just what other people are behind their faces. What are they that is not revealed by their face” Nothing else a person possesses is more representative than their face, yet it shows nothing of their life, their joys or jolting sorrows, their loves and hates, their depths and heights of imagination, their soul, and still it is what we usually define another person as in our minds. When a person’s name is mentioned, usually we think of their face, not their deeds, nor trials and tribulations…. The very things that make them human, and one of “us.”
Do me a favor, look at your face in a mirror, look at it closely, and then tell us what you have seen and what you have thought about as you look at it.
i like to turn to the mirror, cock one eyebrow and say
"the name's bond, james bond"
I haven't seen my face in a mirror since 1639....
I see no one I know.
I'm being totally serious. My appearance has changed enough that often I have trouble connecting it with who I am.
@kuvasz,
kuvasz wrote:Do me a favor, look at your face in a mirror, look at it closely, and then tell us what you have seen and what you have thought about as you look at it.
Today I looked into the mirror shortly after seeing pictures of myself in the Boston gathering thread. There were striking differences between the guy in the pictures and the guy in the mirror: The guy in the mirror had no double-chin; he did have a much slimmer tummy and a more charming smile than the guy in the pictures. Apparently, years of looking into mirrors have taught me to pose. That makes me look more flattering to myself than I look to the people I meet in the real world. This isn't exactly comforting to think about, but it's the way it is.
i think michael jackson said it best
"i'm looking at the man in the mirror
i'm asking what the **** did you do to your face"
@Thomas,
I see a mirror image of me. I can still see my six year old self in some of my stance, my looking out at the world.. really, it is comparable to a certain photo from first grade. I don't presently see my face as a mask - I see it as my face with all its age and problematic parts, but not that is not-me. But I do know what you mean by mask, I remember having those thoughts or just old primitive who the hell is this thoughts earlier in my life. Just not today.
Thomas, I almost commented on that thread that you reminded me of Rahm Emmanuel with that stance (there's a photo series on HuffPo with him and his hands at belt line). I've done that, girl that I am.. I like, for example, jean pockets, or any pockets, and what stances I or others work out with those. In my case, I probably consider those as part of what I used to do while wearing a button down type shirt with rolled up sleeves and wearing some noticible ring or bracelets, a mix of tailored and garish/flirty. (I'm part of the original button down generation. Ruffles looked funny on me. I preferred simple velvet..)
But back to faces in mirrors. I always see my eyes. Up to now, there's still some light in them.
@djjd62,
Quote:i think michael jackson said it best
"i'm looking at the man in the mirror
i'm asking what the **** did you do to your face"
HAAA!
Well - I like what I see. If I really take time to look - I see my Mom's nose and mouth, My Daddy's eyes, and I also see that time is moving on - But I try not to dwell on that. I am glad to say I don't look in the mirror as long or as much as I used to - which I would like to say is maybe a bit more wisdom - more confidence in who I am and being comfortable with what I look like - regardless of make-up or not. I guess I am not as critical these days as I once was.
@Thomas,
Thomas wrote:
kuvasz wrote:Do me a favor, look at your face in a mirror, look at it closely, and then tell us what you have seen and what you have thought about as you look at it.
Today I looked into the mirror shortly after seeing pictures of myself in the Boston gathering thread. There were striking differences between the guy in the pictures and the guy in the mirror: The guy in the mirror had no double-chin; he did have a much slimmer tummy and a more charming smile than the guy in the pictures. Apparently, years of looking into mirrors have taught me to pose. That makes me look more flattering to myself than I look to the people I meet in the real world. This isn't exactly comforting to think about, but it's the way it is.
That's true of me, too....I am much prettier and slimmer and younger in the mirror!!! Although tha depends a lot on how I am feeling.
At the moment, (after a few weeks of semi-invalidism and restricted movement and an infected spider bite and antibiotics) I look tired, very pale, puffy, my hair is flat and my eyes look deadish.
I'll be very happy when my mien actually becomes more healthy and lively, and my roseate self-image in the mirror returns.
I see my grandmother... my aunt.... my Uncle Paul....I also see my dughter Carmen, my son Stephen, I see myself if I pull back the skin on my face towards my back..... and I realize that time is inevitable.... I also see a man lucky enough to look much younger than his years and honesty compels me to admit it pleases me...I see scars...some from age, some from worry, some from injury...but also I see lines permanently etched from laughter....lots and lots of laughter.... and I know that every laugh line is a good thing...because that is a pleasure I have been given and can never be taken back from me.... and again I am pleased.....
@kuvasz,
I see, again, the young woman I once was, thanks to my loving husband who was my high-school sweetheart 36 years ago, and whom I finally married last year after not seeing each other for 35 years. I see all of her hopes and dreams, many of them fulfilled, some yet to be. I see the free spirit she once was and thank my husband again for encouraging me to bring that spirit back. I see the earth mother that young woman wanted to be and am thankful that the woman today is almost there.
I also see a woman who, like others have said, consists of parts of each of her parents, aunts, uncles, but thankfully
not her Grandfather's nose or ears. :-)
I also see a woman who has many responsibilities who at times wants to say, "I don't want them," but who is mature (eek I hate that word) enough to recognize that they are there and must be fulfilled.
All-in-all I see a woman who is "cleverly disguised as a responsible adult" as the sign on my office door reads. And to quote another sign on my office door, "Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional." I hope that I never see that woman as only a grown up.
When I look in the mirror, I say to myself: "Oh no, not you again!!"
When I am in a bad mood, I see my father. Otherwise, I see a woman who is much, much older than I am.
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