Wearing a Mask and Smiling

[Lynn]

Hello

I work in retail and I am often at the door as the "Greeter" making sure customers are wearing a face covering and offering general greetings. So many times a customer will say "I am smiling" but you cant see it under the mask, but you can tell. I tell them the eyes tell that you are smiling under the mask where the mouth is hidden.

Some get it others look at you like your going mental. Its true your eyes tell it all and when I wish someone a good day I am smiling in doing so, and yet some just keep going expressionless. I pause and send them a little light for their day to get better. Yes it sucks to be in a mask for 8 hours a day but too it is a small thing we do to maybe stay safe.

We are given a mouth but truly it is our eyes that are the windows to our soul, and in that they show the emotions hidden in the mask.

Do you smile under your mask? Or just keep walking as if life is over ?

Lynn

I work with people too. I'm sort of a Jack-of-all-trades handyman, so when people call me it's because they have something they need solved. Sometimes it's because they are very ill or very old, or both, such as a current client of mine who has stage four cancer. He really can't do much of anything. Just standing up is a trial, but the windows still need weather stripping for the winter, door jambs still need adjusting, lights need changing, toilets need fixing, etc..

The eyes truly do tell it all. We aren't generally used to paying such close attention to the eyes, but these times have required things from us I don't think we ever expected. Life goes on. I'm glad to see so many of us pull together in consideration and care for each other. This pandemic is a constant reminder of the fragility of life and the value of each other.

I smile a lot under my mask. It makes me happy to be useful to other people, to know that in how ever a small way I am helpful to someone else - but it needn't be strictly practical. If invited I will often stay for a while and just talk - properly socially distanced, of course. Many of the people I help are pretty lonely, what with the pandemic and all.

[Anala]

Originally Posted by Lynn

Do you smile under your mask? Or just keep walking as if life is over ?
Lynn

I always smile, mask or not and most people smile back. :-) our light meets in the middle.

With the masks and the plexiglass, I can not hear anyone, so I sign so people will look up and speak louder. I have made several new friends who sign at the store we frequent! And we make each other’s day a little brighter!

[Molearner]

From Simone Weil....."Two prisoners whose cells adjoin communicate with each other by knocking on the wall. The wall is the thing which separates them but it is also their means of communication. … Every separation is a link.”

[ocean breeze]

Its very true. The eyes say a lot. Many people can smile but its often a tight lip smile. Their eyes say nothing. But when people smile not just with their lips but you can see it in their eyes then its different. It feels different.

I don't wear a mask unless i'm entering a place with plenty of people. I normally wear the mask just for food shopping. I don't work and am mostly alone. I think i actually laugh more than smile. I get random giggles even when out in public.

[andrewaustin]

For many introverted/shy people, this provides a great opportunity to practice smiling in public.

It's a fact, a genuine smile comes from the eyes.

[Anala]

Originally Posted by andrewaustin

For many introverted/shy people, this provides a great opportunity to practice smiling in public.

This is true! It is a good way to practice!

And when you smile, people can hear it in your voice. :-)

[Starman]

I am not a visual person, having lost my eyesight in both eyes for about 5-years, and went through more than a dozen eye surgeries to regain my eyesight. Today I currently have impaired eyesight, and I have no idea what my eyes are saying when I smile.

I always wear my mask in public and I have different designs on several masks that draw peoples attention. Including a smiling mask that is close to my complexion.

I often feel a very light, comfortable and joy-filled, presence come over me, and then I just start making people laugh. It has happened a lot; where I innocently say something to someone, and that person cracks up laughing about it. I think the joy comes from that presence and not so much anything I have said. We do not need a reason to be happy.

[Johnathanrs]

Originally Posted by Lynn

Yes it sucks to be in a mask for 8 hours a day but too it is a small thing we do to maybe stay safe.

You are making a conscious choice to derive a negative experience from this. Nothing wrong with that, but if your mind isn't in a negative polarity(yin and yang), it will cause the effects that you are talking about. Try flipping the polarity and consider that mask as a fun experience. I know you'll change your opinion.

I use to think that heat was a dreadful thing until I started looking at the sun as my best friend. The more and more that I loved the sun, the more and more the heat symptoms went away to where I could stand more heat than anyone else. Everything is energy, even your subjective mind, thoughts, and behavior. Everything can be changed with the right attitude. The first thing you need to do is believe in yourself. A hard barrier that many cannot get past. You, however, are here and are capable.

The mask is your fantasy boyfriend. Be one with the mask. Cherish it. It loves you. Never forget that.