There is an unadulterated child's, a familiar, a social reach, one with tones of endearment,
career protocol... and yes, an "exploitative" smile, along a few others in between. What I wish to
expound on though on this share is... the unseen, silent, for-own-self smile... that only a few who truly know you can read. And with nary a word... they let out your harmonious smile through them, who in turn won't even dare to explain it to others, knowing full well that there is just no way. These are the friends who in conversations... you take random turns at completing or filling in the blanks in each other's sentences...
Before I continue on further though... let me point
to "exploitative". In this instance, it really is
about those who have come to rely on others' to ignite their own smiles so they can continually, even if temporarily so, overcome their pains and hide their demons. I once was a volunteer on a city suicide hotline and yes, a short stretch it was. (My predominantly positive personna I thought was going to be enough... perhaps a case or two too many, but I did discover my threshold... and mind you, not a moment of the experience went for naught.) Also, having once helped care a terminally ill cancer patient... who early on had come to peace with his fate more than the many who surrounded him. (This time... this left a life imprint becoming even larger deeper in me... as time continue to go.) I have no clinical psychiatry background... so, I'll simply leave this portion at this and leave it to readers to sort of apply own finishing comments or thoughts.
Now going back into citing instances to further illustrate the gist of this write-up... this time
with my then 16 year old daughter Gina as we happen to simultaneously looked at each other accompanied by subtle yet just as deep from the heart smiles... she outright just said, "Yeah, Dad... I'm you." At that particular moment, I was being quietly thankful that I was able to register equal attention to her considering she and my son are mere fourteen months apart... and in their early formative years... it was mostly sports with my overly-active toddler son whenever we three were all out together. And of course with my son Danny, smiles turning into gut-wrenching laughter at the silliest of observations without the need for trading explanations. And with certain friends as well, when attempts to end the night at say two in the morning would find us simply move from the living room sofas to the kitchen floor only to realize hints of the about to be upon us morning sun. Ah, life's little treasures not allowed to simply let pass!
What's often amazing for me though is... when all of a sudden someone would ask me how
come I'm not smiling while, meantime... I'd be in my most gratuitous, at peace with self and belief in the moment. Yes, creating own personal space, be it away solo or in the middle a crowd of three or hundreds... is a practice not easy to be skilled at without discipline and determination. But once attained... objective detachment can be so freeing, humbling... thus allowing ethereal glow from a long, silent and hidden a smile.
This article is written in tribute to a long time known and endeared friend among a circle of close friends... who just passed away the other day. I always remembered the crescendos in the laughter within her smiles... her sense of serenity behind the guarded but not hidden self reflecting smiles... which easily and often disarm time and again many of us. I for one, was quietly in awe of her spirit and resolve to conquer the odds while ensuring that she did not deny herself whatever there was to cherish. You see, since we've known her, she was already in a condition which could have taken her away from us at any moment's time since twenty or so years ago.
Ms. Patricia Charles, may you now indeed be... In Eternal Peace and Bliss!
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| Eagerly, each day we must await... |
Before I continue on further though... let me point
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| Nurture life in the most earnest ways we know how... |
Now going back into citing instances to further illustrate the gist of this write-up... this time
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| The roads we seek to navigate, so around we may explore... |
What's often amazing for me though is... when all of a sudden someone would ask me how
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| Head architect we each are, to the very life we each oh-so-choose! |
This article is written in tribute to a long time known and endeared friend among a circle of close friends... who just passed away the other day. I always remembered the crescendos in the laughter within her smiles... her sense of serenity behind the guarded but not hidden self reflecting smiles... which easily and often disarm time and again many of us. I for one, was quietly in awe of her spirit and resolve to conquer the odds while ensuring that she did not deny herself whatever there was to cherish. You see, since we've known her, she was already in a condition which could have taken her away from us at any moment's time since twenty or so years ago.
Ms. Patricia Charles, may you now indeed be... In Eternal Peace and Bliss!
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| Life by nature, is porous enough... yet, the basic ways among the simple many can lead to fulfillment and inspired benevolence... which then create advocacies upon which many legacies are driven from... |
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