FACES, FACES EVERYWHERE; BUT DO I DARE?

Have you noticed -- people have two eyes, two ears, two arms and two legs. But only one face. Which by simple subtraction makes the face especially important. In particular how its form and shape convey what stirs within its heart and soul.

Take the face of Jesus. Neal Thompson of Missouri was kicked out of his Church for arriving dressed as Jesus. Including beard, white robe and cross.Congregation was horrified. For his part, Neal said: "I forgive them." But while he ponders his theology in the local poky, the incident brings to mind the 6 billion other faces. Mainly the few hundred we encounter each day with perhaps too little attention.

There are neighbors scooping up their morning papers, kids trudging to classes, street crews, not to mention fellow drivers and/or commuters. Happy faces and sulking ones. Calm faces and intense ones. Faces come in all shapes, sizes and smiles; but how often do we take the time to tell?

At work there are more faces. Busy ones, distracted ones, gossiping ones, maybe even a few transcendent ones. But best I keep my face to myself, and let them do the same with theirs.

Then all those posed faces on the walls. Banks and law firms are infamous for posting past presidents and employees. Faces we pass and ignore every hour of every day. I can't be seen staring at these dead faces, right?

Also the faces in local lunch counters or truck stops. Solo faces hunched over chicken sandwiches, considering their newspaper, their menu or perhaps a few of their private dreams. You wonder who these strangers are. What their dreams must be like. No...? None of your business...? Well, in our culture, we're programmed to give everyone "their space." Unlike some where faces go face-to-face whenever a conversation begins.

Of all the faces in all the world, the ones that count most fill the walls of my room. A haphazard gallery of posed and candid shots of when she and I were still young...our children still children...our parents still with us for the holidays...when family, friends, even pets had not yet left.

In "Anna Kerenia" Tolstoy has her muse: "I need my things about me..." So do we all. For safety. Security. Comfort. So we busy our homes, wallets and purses with the faces we love. At times, though, the other faces out there are worth a second glance. For they, just like us, yearn for so many of the same things.

Perhaps one of them is that you might smile and say hello to them....