The Painted Face

This is my first attempt at humorous self-help, so bear with me. This is an expansion on a quote that I have not since seen about painting our own masks that people see.

Enjoy.

The Painted Face

One moment, my friend, do not allow my clown makeup to deceive you. The face that I show to the world represents your reality, not mine; my countenance reflects your beliefs, not mine. 

You think me sad? Watch. I paint the corners of my mouth downward. A stroke at the corner of the eye; a slash here; a line there; nothing could be simpler. And there you have it, mystery. The lonely, the disturbed, the hiders, the seekers, the losers and the finders; all are here, in the confines of my paintbrush. Here you’ll find the elation of success, the depression of defeat, the robust laugh of happiness, as well as the cry of the weary.

Life as you know it is a tale, only that. Nothing more. A tale told by, well, some have a philosopher crying out their story. You? Well, now, you have a clown. 

Let us begin the day. First, let me draw a line from the left corner of my mouth to the right. No curves, no triangles. No banana-shaped oblongs or rectangles or spots. We start in neutral. 

What would you have me paint? Now you’ve started. A grimace? A smile? You’re the director, you’re the artist. See, I hold the pencil, how will it go? Up? Down? You hesitate; you cannot decide. What’s that? You want me to help you? Well how can I help? I’m just a dash of paint. A brush. A bit of fluff at your disposal. You are the life. The power is within you. But it is of no use whatever if you don’t use it. So plant your feet, push the door, pull the rope, flip the switch, articulate, PAINT. Do it. NOW. I detect hesitation. Let me help. 

See, I pick up the brush. I dip it into the paint, I hold it to my face. Command me, which way do I apply the material, and in what direction does it go? Aha! You’ve made a decision. You want to make a positive you. To see the sparkle, the joy, the happiness. Nothing could be simpler, watch. A stroke here, a dot there, a line, a twirl, and we’ve done it. Now with what was of such concern, where’s your problem? Where’s the dilemma? It was only a tale, just that. It signified nothing. The power was always and only within you. Me? I’ll leave for a while, but I’ll be back. Paintbrush, box, and all. How do you reach me? Easily, just close your eyes, imagine I’m there, and I will be. Who am I? But don’t you know? Come over here, with me, a little closer. Aha, there it is, look there, you can see my right there! Over there, in the mirror.

Everyone wears a mask. You alone can control your own.

Beating the Holiday Blues

November, and the holidays begin. Thanksgiving, the holiday of outrageous binge-eating--and to my oft-negative eyes-- outrageous UNthankfulness (definitely not a word). December rolls about, a "taffy" of a month, or a month that seems to be chewed and stretched and endlessly gnawed at until it finally ends and the prize is received. In this case, the prize of December to my, again, negative eyes is the end. 

As can be deciphered from the above exhibit of ultra-offensive negativity that can be classified as ultra-teenager, I'm not the most positive human being. I have had bouts with depression, which to the naked eye can seem like regular teenage misery. However, depression is not the occasional teenage blue day. My depression can be categorized as a "taffy", except there is no reward at the end. It's endless blue days, where there is absolutely no relief. Anxiety is another issue. Loud noises, cramped spaces, and excited children are just a few triggers of my inexplicable but definitely present stress. 

Believe me when I say, I know I am not the worst-off person in the world. There are many people in the world that face much tougher challenges than what I face. Nevertheless, this is my journey.

The holidays usually leave us with a joyful feeling-- a high of sorts. But every high has a doubly horrible hangover. How do we keep our holiday high going for longer?

Well, short answer is, we never get high in the first place.

Viewing our lives as a graph that moves up and down over time, like a stock market visual, is incorrect.

In reality, our lives are a constant black line, never wavering. Life never gets better or worse.This sounds absolutely terrible at first, I know. But instead of letting life choose your lows and your highs, view your life in your control. You choose when you have high moments, and you choose when you have low moments. Life never deals you a better or worse hand than the guy next to you, we all are given the same set of cards to play with. Christmastime is definitely a high point, why wouldn't it be? But why do we have to have those post-holiday blues, when our life is a never-ending "taffy" of high moments? As humans, we can either choose to always stay positive, negative, or bounce back between the two. 

This essay has been great in principle, but not in practice (which is often the case with anything self-help). How do we stay in the high moments? Focus on everything good. Write down 3 things you're grateful for, or that made you happier throughout the day, and you will statistically (yes, studies have been done) be happier! Or just do as I do, and have a Happier account! Happier is a community of just Happy moments! You can even take their course which starts at the beginning of 2014, which should definitely help with the post-holiday blues here. 

Happy On!