I initially learned this phrase when reading about meditation. It refers to each unique, individual infant “face” that was born without yet being influenced by the external, physical world. I bring it up because it ties into the discussion from yesterday, about getting out of the “briar patch.”
The concept of Divine Perfection resonates strongly with me. One of my mantras is “I have what I need, I know what to do.” But that is something I have had to “re-learn” over time. Divine perfection, to me means that we are born as the exact and perfect expression of Divinity, in the precise right body (even if that body doesn’t work the way we think it should), into the specific environment (parents and family included) that will most benefit from the unique gifts and talents our lives bring to share.
Yet, once we arrive, we become influenced, challenged, and sometimes completely destroyed by the external world. Our faces begin to show the impact of the material and often non-Divine places in which we find ourselves. The longer we are in the proverbial “briar patch” the further our “first face” is defamed, defaced and takes on the suffering of the world, rather than radiating as it initially did when oxygen first hit our infant lungs.
All of the terminology and expressions to describe what happens between innocence and “losing one’s way” are irrelevant. I like them because it is helpful to capture some of these experiences with certain phrases. But best not to get wrapped up in them, as we can miss the point. Which is this:
When our spirits take shape in the form of humanity at birth, our bodies and faces become the vehicles for expressing whatever only we uniquely can. We all “have what we need and know what to do” from the moment we are born. But we get distracted along the way. We sometimes mis-take the lives we have as our “own” and become completely vulnerable to the power of the material world, egoic yearning, titles, fame, fortune and pursuits of anything but the mission we were created to pursue.
We know we have fallen prey, when we reach for anesthesia. Next time you hear your true purpose calling you, in the form of an itch you can’t seem to scratch, or a tumbling of bricks on your head, try to honor it. The first step in becoming who we are is to listen to this instinct and not drown it out with our mind’s endless chatter, judgment and time travel into the past or the future. While future action may make sense, initially we are asked only to be open, to raise our antenna so we don’t miss the call, which only comes in the now.
When this seems challenging, or it is a struggle to decide what to do next, remember your first face. Be reminded that your specific purpose is as unique as your infant body, and the story of your birth. See if you can look around with the fresh, curious eyes of a newborn and resist the temptation to be of the world, and not just in it. Clarity comes easily when we re-connect to our essence, who we were before the world got a hold of us.