Mary Manning
Wrinkles
Lines on the face, tattoos of aging.
Life is proved upon the body
Like needle jabs from a blind machine.
Taken from the May 21, 2008, page of the "Daily Tao," the short essay that follows the quote is food for thought. As we know, the older we get, the more we are conscious of aging. Looking back at earlier photos, we are often surprised by how unmarked our faces are and, as we look in the mirror, we are unwillingly obliged to acknowledge the signs life has left on our face.
While it is true that every experience we have, everything we do and think "...registers upon us as surely as the steady embroidery of a tattoo artist," we have a great deal of choice as to the outcome. Like the tattoo we ask to have inked into our skin, it is up to us to determine "the pattern and picture" reflected in our face as we grow older. We make the decisions as to what we do and think; if our actions, our thoughts are negative, or even ugly, that is just how we are going to look. Far better to have wrinkles created from smiling than the deep grooves caused by frowning and grimacing.
"Whether we emerge beautiful or ugly is our sole responsibility."
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