142 I Can Read You Like a Book E
Heights Community Development Organization, a subsidized hous-
ing project in Washington, D.C. Resident Alice Frazier greeted Her
Majesty with a bear hug, which caused a mixture of abject embar-
rassment and shock on the part of former First Lady Barbara Bush,
the D.C. mayor, and the secretary of housing and urban development.
In fact, the only people who didn’t seem to be bothered by the
egregious breach of protocol were Mrs. Frazier and the queen.
The more comfortable a person is with an experience, no
matter how unusual, the more likely a person will handle the embar-
rassing moment with tact, grace, and will be able to internalize the
energy.
Experiment with this system of codifying the three main traits
of human moods. Make your own table and create profiles for
other emotional states as well, for honing your “review” skills.
Expand the system and make it your own. What other criteria
might you add? How about dress? Is it even possible for the Pope
to show absolute joy—an explosion of energy—while he’s wearing
his mitre and pallium, and carrying the pastoral staff? This is not
only a matter of the physical limitations of the clothing, but also the
gravity of the office represented by the clothing.
Does the role you play in life affect your expressions of moods?
Surely the queen would have reacted differently to the hugger if
she were not practiced in controlling her state. Is there likely a
difference in energy level and focus as we shift from role to role in
our daily lives? Most humans have a thick, layered skin of diver-
sions and disguises when it comes to emotions; this system is just
one more way to skin the monkey.
