Face Off

So there I was minding my own business spending an otherwise stellar Saturday afternoon at one of my least favorite places in the world - the grocery store. I am standing in this ridiculously long line waiting to purchase my three items, while at the same time contemplating my life in general and how I was going to accomplish everything I'd promised myself this year, when some random man says, "Why you looking like that? It can't be that bad" Since I am working on my temper and I couldn't think of any nice response, I said nothing. I just stared at him. No one else said anything either. What am I supposed to say? Is there some reason why I should feel compelled to explain the look on my face to a total stranger?

Can I help it if the look on my face is somehow offensive or unpleasant to him? Should I care? I am sure it was a harmless comment, but just what if...it really was as bad as he claimed that I looked? Then what? What if...I was contemplating the plot to my next great novel or screenplay and just like that - someone interrupts my thought process and the idea is lost forever to me. What if a seemingly harmless comment well was... harmful? At the very least it was irritating enough for me to be typing about it now. What if I had been embarrassed? What if I had felt the need to share all the worries, triumphs and concerns on my mind with him? Would he have taken the time to listen? Somehow I doubt it. Is there some unwritten expectation that I should look "happy" or appealing all the time?

Chances are, I won't always be smiling at random people on the street. I might sometimes, I might not. Perhaps if I am not, instead of commanding me to change my demeanor, why not lead by example. They say smiling is contagious and I am sure it is. I do it most of the time. It is hard to not return a smile.

But on the off chance of me not looking the part, I can make only one goal. That regardless, of what I look like on the outside or what I am going through on the inside, that I will always be thankful for everything I have and everything I am.