Facial Expressions

Faces – these form a reflection of your emotions. Perhaps you may have noticed how your face contorts into different expressions based on your moods or even your thoughts buried far below the surface. That's because the skin makes up your face, which is held in place by muscles. We'll look more at those muscles and what makes them up much later and the health of the skin too since it covers most of the outside surface of the body. Pretty much everything you see below the skin is muscles except where it attaches to joints in the arms and legs and neck and hips and other places. These joints, which let you move in more than one position are formed by the meeting of two bones. The bones lie well underneath the muscle structure. Later on, we'll talk about this. The face shape changes based on the muscle mass which occurs under certain conditions. Perhaps an abundance of food or the overeating of it will fatten the face while an underabundance of food or the undereating of it will flatten or hollow it. For the most part though, we're human beings not ghouls so the face is either fattened or flattened. Rarely is it hollowed out in the shape of the bones. Also, in times of want and need, the face may become flattened, but very rarely will it drastically change shape to fit the bones. Now, let's see what lies beyond those cute facial expressions.

Joyful – there's lots of words to describe this emotion. Perhaps it's known a bit differently in your home culture. Maybe the rules for public and private expressions of emotion are somewhat different. When you've grown as a person though, except when you're doing it for work, you'll find it's ok to let yourself truly show. This is what it looks like when you've just got that promotion you've been wanting, a marriage, or even a child. At least, that's what textbooks say it should. It may not feel that way for you and that's okay too. Everybody's different so don't feel like you're forced.

Happy – happiness is what it looks like when you're face looks something like this. Perhaps you've just gotten some good news or a friend just called. You can also be happy and have assumed a neutral look. People do this all the time in workplace or social settings. You can also be happy because the birds' wings are flapping or when a cloud covers the sun.

Neutral – this is the look of a hardened person of the workplace. Perhaps they haven't been spending enough time at home with their family like they should. Maybe they even aren't getting adequate rest. Perhaps they've sacrificed their future for the sake of their job. Whatever the case, people can look neutral and still feel all sorts of things. They've just been trained not to let their feelings immediately show. Some cultures also make you assume neutral as a matter of habit. Since expressions ranging on extremes are looked down on, they figure stifling the natural emotions would do a whole lot better. In fact, it does not. In some cases, it makes things worse. In other situations, it even comes with a whole list of bad habits. Can you see how living your life in neutral isn't always the best thing?

Sad – this is how your face looks when you're upset about something. It should look a little bit like this. Though it is more of an emotion you're feeling rather than just about an actual face. Many people feel sad in all sorts of ways. Some express it openly, while others do not. Still others might take to hiding it deep down inside with enough neutral and happy to mask it and yet feel sad. Sad is something you feel after say the cat dies or the dog runs away from home. It can even be over something as simple as a burnt dinner.

Anger – this happens when sad gets built up all at once and doesn't have an outlet. Add in a little bit of mad, upset over something that happened, and well things might not end well. Anger is usually expressed in dozens if not hundreds of ways. If unchecked or restrained, it can run into revenge which is doing something to pay someone back for a perceived hurt. Hurt is the emotion you feel when a situation is unkind or unfair. Regret goes along with it after you've done something irreplaceable in your anger. Guilt too can feed in if you've done something you shouldn't in the past and now fear the anger of others. This is why Jesus says to be angry and sin not. The sun should not go down on your wrath nor should a place be made for the devil. It's not just me saying it or even making it up. It was told of for a reason.

Laughter – This is one of the ways to express feelings of happiness or incredulity. Let's say you told a joke that I found to be funny. My response is to laugh. Maybe there wasn't a joke at all. Perhaps the situation itself was funny. Let's say you're mad at me right now but when I come walking on it's all forgiven, isn't it? I'm here now, nothing else matters. More than that, let's say the situation has changed and I'm kind and well, you are too. Perhaps we misjudged each other or got off to a bad start. I would find this situation absolutely hilarious and perhaps you would too if you knew what had really gone on. Other people find themselves laughing at all the wrong times. It can be due to nerves or even anxiety. Perhaps that's just their way to cope with unbearable tragedy because what comes next are the

Tears – these happen when a situation is sad, most of the time. It can also come from joy or happiness. In some cases, asking the other person what's wrong won't get a logical response. It's not always due to the dog running away from home or the tea getting spilled on the carpet. Perhaps they're the expression of a life lived on neutral that's just coming home. So come on now, it's okay to let them all out. Just don't blame others though for making you sad. It really won't help. The situation is only what you allow.

In the end, there's three main facial expressions: happy, sad, and neutral. On the other hand, there's all sorts of emotions and feelings and ways to express them. The laughter and tears are some ways of showing these off. What are some others you can think of?