Fuss-o-Fuzz

What is all this fuzz about?
Couple of days back, I decided that it was time for a change of scenery.... I wanted to see a different face in the mirror and while shaving just decided to take off the fuzz above my lips without giving thought to the amount of fuss that I was inviting into my life.... No, that's a lie... I knew what to expect. This has happened many many years ago too. About 15 years ago I had done the same and got vaguely similar similar reactions except not all the players were the same.
But that was ages ago and my memory plays hide and seek with what transpired then. But I did have vague premonitions of what was to happen after this diabolic act.
My wife who had laid the law "No removing moustache" fainted of shock after I opened the bathroom door. My kids were woken up to see this apparition. My dog was brought into this discussion and was asked to express his shock and dismay at this dastardly act. My younger son who had expressed the desire to see his father without the fuzz and later made to retract that statement was suitably admonished for his loose wishes that led to this drastic folly..
The whole house was in turmoil on a Tuesday morning in the middle of a busy week with exams looming on my 10th std son. And this fuss just didn't die down there.
It went all the way down with me travelling 20 floors when people took a double take on seeing this fuzzless wonder. Some were reticent, some suppressed a laugh, a few ventured some comment about how I looked different, many categorically told me that they don't want to see me like this and wanted the old Iggy back.
What really surprised me that evening in the lift was a 9 yr old girl telling me, "Uncle, you took off that? My friend S.... told me about it in school." Wow! Didn;t realise that this will be a topic for conversation with kids that age.
What hit me was people associate me with some facial hair and are not able to digest me without it. Am I only that, or is that the salt in this dish? The next question was, "Which is the dish and which is the salt?"
We see people so mechanically that any change in them makes us uncomfortable. Or are people worried "Why is this fellow not bothering about all the ridiculing comments and living life on his own terms - without caring for public opinion." "What kind of a creature is this that doesn't care about the opinion of his family, friends and community?"
But to me it was a liberating experience. It taught me that I need not get fixated on symbols of how people see me. Now, I can handle people laughing at me. This has made me stronger to live life on my terms rather than on someone else's terms. And I believe that that is what upsets people around me rather than the loss of this small patch of fuzz.
Try removing some symbols of how people perceive you and see for yourself how liberating it is when you are able to handle people's ridicule. It will help you build the emotional muscle to take on resistance on more important issues in your life where you are imprisoned behind the all-important "public opinion"
Live life on your terms. Let not the perceived image be you. Set your inner self free to experience life in all its beauty.