What does a face show?

There are faces that speak, and faces that whisper, and faces that simply keep quiet. But all faces can be heard, if only there is a listening ear, a feeling heart. 

The smile that just lights up the corner of the eyes... The Wonder that is writ large on the upturned gaze and the love that flows fro half open lips... But all this is seen, and heard by those who want to see and hear.

There is my face- once an open book for all to read- to see and know exactly what was going on inside my head and my heart. The fear, the apprehension, the love and the adulation, the pride and the sense of achievement- everything was as plain to see as the red blush of embarrassment. In fact, when I used to be upset- my nostrils would flare and deflare- automatically. It was easy to understand that I was going on rough roads. 

Then one day- al my cousins teamed up- and my nostrils were a tell tale give away- they declared to all and sundry- I was the laughing stock! And I was all alone! 

Sitting there on the stairs, I remember crying all alone- and wondering if I could ever belong! Then came my grandmother- grand and royal. Her presence was at once overpowering and protecting. It was as if she had picked me up in her hands and cupped them to hide me from the cruel world! And she told me somethingI rem,ember to this day- "No matter what- a warrior does not shed tears. No matter what a warrior does not give up. No matter what- a warrior goes on- And you are a warrior. "

And then she looked at me tenderly. Sat down beside me. And said it once more- "No matter what- a warrior goes on. And... You are a warrior."

And then she explained to me why it was alright to smile when you wanted to cry, why it was alright to go on when you wanted to stop. She told me I was different from all her grand children- and she said it with a certain pride that can be felt not described. She touched me on the shoulder and told me to remember that I was the only one who could help anyone I chose to- including myself. She told me to remember that I could choose to be weak, or vulnerable- but only to myself. And that the warrior in me was stronger the any she had seen in her life. That I needed to respect that warrior, that I needed to trust that warrior, that I needed to BE that warrior.

There after- it became easy to not let my nostrils flare when I was upset. It became easier to hide that I was hurting when I got hurt. It became easier to be myself INSIDE and not let the world in. It was easy to become opaque, unreadable, and strong.

Today- I can choose to be the open book, or the closed one- on demand. 

Today, I can choose to be the warrior, and the woman who is not afraid to show her emotions. 

Today I can choose to be anything I can be...

In a moment.

It is that moment that opens the doorway to eternity- the moment just before anything is about to happen. In that moment anything is possible- to read, to be read. To see, to be seen. To understand, to be understood. To love, to be loved.

It all happens in one instant. In one moment. 

Of being myself.