Proverb of the Day:
Today I was prompted to consider
something in Spanish, which on further analysis is not only a proverb about the
spiritual state, but also the physical appearance and the way that we reflect
our inner machinations and temperaments to others...
'La cara es el espejo del alma' (The countenance is the
mirror of the soul).
Sometimes in English we say that the face is the window of
the soul which is an almost parallel meaning. I believe that as we grow older,
mature, that our faces take on a character which gives insight into more than
our physical existence. Our loves, life, pains, moods and thoughts all become
etched like a map across the face. How expressive these features are, and also
how many people go to great lengths to disguise themselves with masks. Perhaps,
as Cicero (106-43 CE) said, that the eyes are the most expressive, or capable
of interpreting the messages flowing through the mind. Cicero's proverb is far
more intriguing and worth contemplation:
"Ut imago est animi voltus sic indices oculi" (The
face is a picture of the mind as the eyes are it's interpreter.)
For me, the most poignant reflection upon the face and state
of the soul is that uttered by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13: 1 - 12:
"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do
not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the
gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have
a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give
all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing... For now we see only a reflection as in
a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know
fully, even as I am fully known."
If we were to draw a lesson from all of this, it may be that
we must fill our minds with good and reasonable thoughts, even love. Just as
our bodies may suffer from an excess of junk food, our minds can deteriorate
from ill use. One simply cannot express love whilst the subject of war and
conflict is running through the mind.
All Rights Reserved / Copyright: David John Drew 2013.
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