I sighed. It’s amazing what memories, emotions and feelings can rush back when one sees the most innocuous items. Especially when those items are highly symbolic.
Suffice it to say, they reminded me of better and happier times. They reminded me of hope and inspiration holding sway over the ugliness of reality. It’s ironic, because that is what a facial mask is supposed to do; take something which could use beautifying and making sure it happens.
I’m a big fan of Marie Kondo–discard things that don’t give you joy. So, as I looked at these facial masks, I asked myself a hard question. Do these give me joy? Does the memory of what they should have signified outweigh the reality? And if it did, was that memory enough to take some of my precious bathroom space, and keep them?
I have to admit, I imagined me wearing one–and I had to laugh. I imagined other people wearing them. And I laughed as well.
I thought about the situation which led to me possessing these masks. Hmmmm…not as happy or joyful. However, the absence of joy is not necessarily the presence of pain or hurt. One can look at anything and feel neutral about it. And in my world, laughter and joy outweighs neutral every day of the week. Sometimes, the world is so harsh and cold, that neutral is a win. And any day where neutral is the choice instead of hurt, pain, anger and negativity, well, that’s even a bigger win.
Now, will I personally wear these in the near future? I don’t know. I’m still undecided on that, as my skin is flawless. LOL. But does one have to use a souvenir to be reminded of happier times?
I usually try to tie in a lesson so that this isn’t just a place for me to vent, but also provides some use to my readers. And I guess what I’ll say is this.
Keep the things in your life that provide you joy. But don’t be so quick to toss things that are neutral. In today’s age, things which don’t cause hate, pain, loss, and anger are rare things indeed.
So, even though I won’t use the face masks, even though there is a little bit of sadness attached to them, and even though at best, I’m neutral about them…I’m going to keep them. Because sometimes, standing still is better than regressing, neutral is better than hate, and a tie is better than a loss. Call it “The Everyman’s Credo.”
P.S. I usually attach a song to these entries. And I get that this is a bit of a downer. So for some uplift, one of my favourite songs…a Broadway classic! “Everything’s Coming up Roses”, sung by Ethel Merman.
Adrian's Blog ( A deep dive into my mind) 
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