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I Can Read You Like a Book
E
Heights Community Development Organization, a subsidized housing project in Washington, D.C. Resident Alice Frazier greeted Her Majesty with a bear hug, which caused a mixture of abject embarrassment and shock on the part of former First Lady Barbara Bush, the D.C. mayor, and the secretary of housing and urban development. In fact, the only people who didn’t seem to be bothered by the egregious breach of protocol were Mrs. Frazier and the queen. The more comfortable a person is with an experience, no matter how unusual, the more likely a person will handle the embarrassing moment with tact, grace, and will be able to internalize the energy. Experiment with this system of codifying the three main traits of human moods. Make your own table and create profiles for other emotional states as well, for honing your “review” skills. Expand the system and make it your own. What other criteria might you add? How about dress? Is it even possible for the Pope to show absolute joy—an explosion of energy—while he’s wearing his mitre and pallium, and carrying the pastoral staff? This is not only a matter of the physical limitations of the clothing, but also the gravity of the office represented by the clothing. Does the role you play in life affect your expressions of moods? Surely the queen would have reacted differently to the hugger if she were not practiced in controlling her state. Is there likely a difference in energy level and focus as we shift from role to role in our daily lives? Most humans have a thick, layered skin of diversions and disguises when it comes to emotions; this system is just one more way to skin the monkey.