THE STORY BEHIND A GLEEFUL FACE


-- By Olivene Godfrey
One day, years ago, while talking with a wise person, I spoke of how I envy people who always seem so carefree and gleeful.
"But, how do you know how those people really feel?,” I was asked, "Perhaps they are wearing a mask and are laughing on the outside and crying on the inside," she added.

Then I was told a story that many of you may have heard. It seems there was a man who went to see a doctor because he was so depressed and unhappy. When the doctor could find nothing physically wrong with the patient, he suggested, "Why don't you go to the circus and see the clowns and enjoy a good laugh."

"But, the patient said softly, I am a circus clown."

For a while I pondered the significance of the little story. First, I remembered how the great comedian, Red Skeleton, carried on before the cameras, bringing laughter to millions, as he mourned the loss of his beloved young son. Then I remembered the famous author who wrote humorous books and articles during a sad and difficult period in her life.

And, keeping a sense of humor during trying times does help to balance the human spirit while things work out. But, then I thought of those people who are constantly, the clown, whenever they are around others. I suspect that many of them are like the circus clown who visited the doctor. Their audience loves them for they are the supreme pretenders.

Socrates said that the shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be. Actually, we don't fool everyone. If there isn't a good cake under the frosting, someone is going to know it anyway.

Surely it is every person's desire to know what makes him tick and how to go about making himself tick better. While he may not admit it to himself, he is in search of the truth of his own being. We are often victims of our emotions and they play havoc with our peace of mind. They tell us things are true with such sincerity that we believe them to be fact.

Most human beings have had hardships to bear. Actually, it seems that we demand such experiences before we can truly appreciate the meaning of victory. And, bitterness over past experiences waste valuable time. Someone said that until you have walked in the rain, you can't really appreciate the protection of shelter.

There are always compromises in life. But, if you know it's a compromise until the real thing or better thing, comes a long, then you aren't really compromising but being adaptable.
The danger is in telling yourself that you are getting only what you deserve. And, if you are an image - a clown, a self-sufficient person who needs no one, or whatever- then you will probably want what your image wants, not what your real self is starving for. And, most of us need to stop now and think and ask ourselves, " What are you trying to prove?

See you next time.