You are a Two Faced.........!!!!!!....September 7, 1999

You are a Two Faced.........!!!!!!....September 7, 1999

The following was written by my good friend Alyx. I thank him considerably for the time he took to write for me, and the break it allowed me to have. Enjoy...---Highlands

I was thrilled when Highlands asked me to write, as a guest in his journal. Not only is there the practical benefit to him, of getting a break, but it also gives me an opportunity to try something I have been wanting to do on my own!

Have you ever really stopped to look at the people you meet everyday??? Not just the buxom blond walking down the street, or the guy with the naval that can do pushups, but the everyday, average, REAL people we meet everyday.

This week, in this town, there is the annual "Exhibition" (if any minors are reading this, or overaged minors, you can sit on your knees and face the East at that word, it is a shrine for students and adults of all ages here, though every year I see it, I question why more and more). It is during this show of lights, smiles and screams, that you will meet and see the most interesting people!

Because of the nature of my career, I work a booth at this fair. I see people, more than I want to usually, coming and going, walking by, talking, laughing, argueing and being themselves. Well, to some extent anyway.

I was thinking today, as I watched the ranks file by after an animal show, how much I judge people on their appearances.

I watched three young men walk by. Aside from the fact that all of them had peach fuzz on their faces that was 2 inches long, and the hair on their heads reached their assholes, they were actually very PLEASANT to talk to. They stopped at the booth where I was working, engaged in intelligent conversation, and left with a smile and a good bye.

Next, I speak to a couple I'll call elderly (because they were in their mid 40's I would guess, quite old compared to me at least). Aside from the man who couldn't look at enough, other than in my direction, even to say hello, it was a wonder his wife didn't trip on on the marbles I laid at her feet, her nose was was so far up in the air. Interesting people these folks.

And on it went for the afternoon..... anorexic looking females, farmer Jack men, young couples in love, and even younger couples seemingly making love right there in the middle of the concourse.

I see people like this all of the time in my profession. I meet total strangers on a daily basis, and I judge them before they have said anything to me. Back to the three young men.

I am a quasi conservative type of guy, and long hair and a desperate need of a shave kind of repel me to say the least. But they were so pleasant to talk to, and seemed so content with the environment and happy to be there. Sure, I could have thought they were "punks" if they had kept walking, but by stopping to talk to a "suit" they shattered the image I had been seeing. The fact they were normal everyday young men, intelligent, and with a sense of humor, almost made me feel guilty. How quickly do we judge people around us??

I thought all kinds of things after that, how we all meet people most everyday, total strangers, a cashier, a gas jockey, a banker, a doctor, even our friends. How often do we see the real people?? Even our closest friends??

I know a man who has lost so much sleep because he and his wife have been trying to conceive a child for 10 years now (poor choice of words, but you know what I mean).How about a woman who wants to have children but can't because her health won't permit it? Or a man who appears to have everything he could ever want, and is still miserable inside, and never is at a loss for a joke or to wear a smile? We meet these people everyday!

I remember last year, in the fall, and the one year anniversary is coming up by the way, when my mother passed away. I remember the three days between the date of her death and the date of the funeral. I remember going to the corner store, stopping at my office to get some papers, going to my bank, I remember so many little things, but most of all, I remember wanting to scream because everyone was carrying on, business as normal, polite "how are you doing?" questions, though not ever suspecting or expecting an honest answer. How many people do we meet like that everyday? People who are suffering the loss of a loved family member or friend? Or the person who can't afford to pay their bills? Or the person who just lost their job, or can't find one? The lady who wants children but can't for some reason have them? The single man who wants to marry?? The married man who wants to be single??

We all wear two faces, at least, and I would suggest many many more. But how good is that?? Sure, not everyone wants to tell or share their life story, or innermost thoughts, that's reasonable. Yet, how do we justify our anger toward people who don't understand where we are coming from? How do expect people to accept us for who we are, when in fact, they have no idea who we are because we won't show or tell them?

I would suggest that myself, and many others, should possibly start looking at people, perhaps even c a r i n g genuinely about others. What a radical thought?? I don't think so. Think about some of the things that have ever made you happiest?? Wouldn't many of them involve a time when we have done something for someone else? When we dared to show a caring or worse yet, a loving attitude?

In thinking and writing about all of this, tomorrow I will get up, and put on my many faces, the same as I would my socks and shirt. Not necessarily because I don't want people to know who I am, or what I think, of how I feel, but because it would cause alot of discomfort in others, for seeing someone being honest, and in myself, for fear of rejection.

I really liked those three guys today, they weren't scared to be who they wanted to be, and yet, the stereotype society has labelled them with, didn't dispel their personal intelligence or common sense. I want to be like them, and I wish more people would as well. After all, it gets confusing knowing who you are talking to, and who you are supposed to be, when everyone picks their mask up and puts it on before a conversation can begin.

....Alyx

....Blessed Be