Many phrases exists to describe the power of a picture, for example, 'A picture is worth a thousand words,' which is credited to Napoleon Bonaparte. I often try to explain to people that language is really a way of transferring images, and that becomes very apparent if you speak more than one language. My daughter and I often speak in both English and French simultaneously: I speak in French and she answers in English, usually. We understand each other perfectly because she receives my French 'pictures' and sends me back English 'pictures'. We also shares smiles and laugh a lot, sometimes for no reason that we can really explain.Sometimes a picture is only a few words. Yesterday, I was enjoying a great morning's conversation with a few friends in Happy Days, in The Gap. One of my friends, Ingrid, had earlier befriended a man on an adjacent table, having been struck by his wearing a cap saying 'Happy Days, Barbados'. He was a old white man, who had been a regular visitor to the restaurant under its previous management. He told us that it used to be owned by a Belgian man. We all struck up a conversation as this man was leaving, and I asked if I could take picture of his cap. He agreed, warning me that if I took his image my camera might suffer irreparable damage. I snapped by phone camera.
Our conversation continued as he delayed his departure, regaling us with a few dirty jokes. He told us about the little town 250 kilometres outside Ontario from where he came, and that he visits Barbados regularly during the 'shovelling season'', which he does not like. His favourite phrase was a sudden explosion of air, that sounded like he ought to excuse himself.
He told us his name was Mac, D, M-O-U-S-E. "Geddit?", he said. He smiled again. Then he turned and started eventually to leave. "I have to go and have a cancer shot," he shouted. Then, he was on his way.
What struck me most about Mac, was that he never stopped smiling and laughed most of the time. I have no idea if he was in pain, but all he did for the 15 minutes that we spoke was to try to make us laugh too.
I have a view that people's faces tell a deep story. The Chinese, amongst several nationalities and cultures, believe that the face represents the energies, health and fortune of a person and they wished to live in harmony with these, and with the prevailing energies of the five elements, yin and yang, and the seasons. This 'wisdom' has seen a huge resurgence in the West during the past 20 years with the growth of acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, Feng Shui and Qi Gong (see article).
I have never studied 'personology' or Chinese face maps, but have always believed that once you smile or laugh with someone many barriers get broken down. However, some people do find it hard to smile or laugh; the experts say that puts them always at a distance to those around them. But, you can also be encouraged to laugh and smile, and apparently 'faking' it can help to 'make' it; the body responds in the same way to real of false smiling or laughter. Some in India have taken this to another level and formed 'laughing groups'. Take a look at John Cleese's little video:
Mac's face was bright and smiling and he laughed almost all the time we talked. We all felt very close to each other at the end of that brief encounter.
Whether you believe it or not, try to have a good laugh today.
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