The Round and the Square.

“OH, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet . . .

~Rudyard  Kipling

In early Chinese thought, heaven was considered round and earth square.  We have been taught, from St. Anselm to Kant, that round and square are opposites.  Round and square; east and west—never the twain shall meet.

Except when it does . . .

“It’s in your eyes. If you are not smiling then you look as though you are mad at the world.”  I have heard every single variation of those two sentences more times then I can count since those long ago years when it was first brought to my attention by a class mate. I have been told that my eyes, when not backed by a smile, make me look: angry, frustrated, standoffish, irritated, conceited, and unapproachable.

Today, when we said our farewells, our guide looked into my face and said; “I think genuine smiles are much more interesting than forced ones. You can tell. You can always tell.  I know no one that looks happy and smiles every moment of their existence. It is not human.”  Asante Sana!

Dear friends and readers, if we should meet next time, or one day, please do not judge me by my unsmiling eyes.  Jambo!