Tag: masks

christian, communication, family, theater

The Communication Crisis

fromthewings6

Living in Illinois this past summer hasn’t exactly been the best summer of my life. Don’t get me wrong. I have had things I have enjoyed richly– like my hummingbird feeder and the precious hummingbirds that I watched daily. I have loved moving a little slower and having more time to read. I have loved the Bible study group and lessons we learned together. I have LOVED the hot weather.

And I loved the new appreciation we all had for the theater camps this summer and the fact that we could enjoy that wonderful talent on stage again!

I loved being back in River City for our Music Man, Jr. Camp!

What haven’t I loved?

1) The new way society attacks each other so freely for voicing their opinions…it doesn’t matter what opinion you are stating it just better agree with theirs or you are ignorant or a few other choice words. In many cases we’ve become rude, selfish and hateful.

2) I haven’t loved the lack of respect for my choices. If I want to wear a mask why do people have to be so judgmental about that decision? Or if I choose to only eat outside or whatever the latest issue is.

3) This year many businesses had to close in Illinois to follow the COVID degrees. Finally, after being allowed to open again and spending money to update protocols looters marched in our city and destroyed many of those businesses. Most of them having nothing to do with what was being protested. I didn’t love that.

What has happened to us, America?
What has happened to us, Christians?

COVID

I think COVID did a far worse damage on us than we even imagined it would. We talked about the risks of not social distancing or not wearing masks and how this virus was waging war on us.

But we didn’t consider how it would affect our communication.


Is it possible that after being shut up in our homes and working alone we are now hiding behind social media? Do we think, “It doesn’t matter how we talk or react or what we say to people! I’m not going to see them for ages.”? Do we put things out there because we have the “freedom” to do so. Do we even care about the way we say things? Is there any thought to love, or tact?

Is it possible that we hide behind our masks? People can’t see what we are really thinking.

We have become faceless to the world and that gives us the boldness to express things that should be expressed, but maybe the opposite is also true?

We have lost our ability to reach out and pick up the phone and really talk about cares, concerns, issues, hope, love, fear and so much more.

And on the other hand, other damage is being done. We don’t know how to respond to the hate and viciousness so instead we say nothing.

How will you be when this crisis is all over? The same?


Are we going to keep these horrible traits that we have picked up during the pandemic or take a good long look at ourselves and how we should use the very mouths we have been given by our wonderful God.

Here are a few thoughts that stand out to me:

James 1:19 “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

Proverbs 18:2 ” Fools find no pleasure in understanding, but delight in airing their own opinions.”

Psalm 19:14 ” May these words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Proverbs 15:1 ” A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Psalm 141:3 ” Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.”

Romans 12:18 ” If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

I Peter 3:8-12 “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.'”

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this subject! Have we grown bolder, but in a dangerous way?
Please leave your comments and share this with those who might be interested!

Until next time,

acting, communication, family, theater

It Is Written All Over Your Face (But I Can’t See It Because You Have A Mask On)

fromthewings6

“Few realize how loud their expressions really are. Be kind with what you wordlessly say.”

― Richelle E. Goodrich, Making Wishes

An actor uses a variety of tools to convince an audience that he truly has become the character he is playing. As a director, I am constantly encouraging the actor to build his character from the outside in or inside out. I don’t care which way he chooses, but it is a must to combine your body and face for the full character development.

In fact, most of us study the face for clues to what a person is really saying to us. Non-verbal communication becomes essential in acting. Did you know that according to a study by Dr. ‘s Paul Ekman and Wallace Frieseney, they found that, the 42 muscles in the face responsible for expression, can make over 10,000 configurations! 3,000 of these relate to emotions. Amazingly enough, expressing yourself by the use of your face doesn’t come natural to everyone! But it is so important.

I remember vividly being scolded as a youngster for the “tone of my voice.” The words I said and my facial expression might have been communicating one message, but the message that was coming from the tone of my voice made my parents believe I was being disrespectful. (which I probably was. Sadly.) Maybe if I had a twinkle in my eye and a smile on my face I would have gotten away with it….again….probably not.


Often words do not match emotions, but the face can betray what the person is actually feeling. Thus, important in communication, but also in acting.

People’s emotions are rarely put into words , far more often they are expressed through other cues. the key to intuiting another’s feelings is in the ability to read nonverbal channels , tone of voice , gesture , facial expression and the like.

Daniel Goleman

Why do I bring this up now?

You got it. The masks.

Now don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying don’t wear them. I am not saying I don’t believe in them. In fact, when I am around groups of people I will be sporting this beautiful Cubs mask made by SERJ Handiworks (serjhandiworks.com if you want one) But I do think we need to understand that there are risks that go beyond health risks. If we focus on those maybe we can prevent problems that might occur after this year of mask wearing.

If we cover half of our face, we only have half to communicate with. Let’s be aware that we still need to be expressive when we are engaging with others.

In a recent study about Facial paralysis a group was shown videos of people with disorders that affect facial movement, They were then asked for their first impressions based on the videos.

People with severe facial movement impairment were rated as less happy and sociable compared to people with mild facial movement impairment. Participants also had less desire to form friendships with them.

In other words, it is very difficult to conquer the human tendency to form impressions based on facial expressions or lack of them.

In 2001 there was a study done on children to test their face-reading skills. This study showed that children with stronger face-reading skills were more popular, and performed better academically. They also discovered that students who had trouble with face-reading had more trouble making friends and had learning difficulties.

I do not wish to alarm and I’m not even sure I totally agree with the results of the study on face-reading. However, I do believe that we need to be aware that with the masks we need to try harder.

Don’t hide behind your mask. The eyes are the window to your soul. Make an effort to connect with the people you see. Honestly, we are all in need of a human connection. It might be the smile in your eyes that makes a difference in someones’ day.

Who knows? Maybe when we can take those masks off for good we will find that the work we put into our facial expression will offer communication and connections that we would never have made before this whole thing started.

And that would be a very good thing indeed.


2 Corinthians 3:18

‘And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.’

I’d really love to hear from you! Please leave me your comments. But I’d love it if you would share this blog as well!

Until next time!

Reba