Face is the index of the Mind

CHANDAN ROY SANYAL, TIM SUPPLE'S A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM ACTOR, VERVE MAGAZINE

I believe everything is connected. Even agony and ecstasy. Yet, everyone needs to be free within to go all out.

I try not to carry my worries with me. I’m sure, neither do you!

A friend of mine, a model, is juggling domestic and professional responsibilities. She desired to do a photo shoot, but only after losing a few pounds around her waist. We had a small conversation about our choices and dreams, only to discover that the weight was less on the waist and more in the head…a waste of sheer beauty. The face is the index of the mind, after all.

This reminds me of a beautiful Zen story...

The River

Two Zen monks, Tanzan and Ekido, traveling on pilgrimage, came to a muddy river crossing. There they saw a lovely young beautiful woman trying to cross the river. Tanzan gracefully picked her up, held her close to him, and carried her across the muddy river. Then the monks continued on their way. Hours later they found themselves at a lodging temple. And here Ekido could no longer restrain himself and gushed forth his complaints: “Surely, it is against the rules what you did back there…. Touching a woman is simply not allowed…. How could you have done that? … And to have such close contact with her! … This is a violation of all monastic protocol…” thus he went on. Tanzan listened patiently to the accusations. Finally, during a pause, he said, “Look, I set that girl down back at the crossing. Are you still carrying her?” (Based on an autobiographical story by Japanese master Tanzan, 1819-1892)