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Everyday we interact with people and exchange glances, words and impressions.  Sometimes we are so busy that we don't notice the surprised or hurt look on someone else's face as we leave a supermarket, bank or school parking lot.  We may have pushed past them through the door as we rushed to our next meeting or scowled at them on the checkout line when they took too long getting the change out of their purse.  Unfortunately we may also miss the look of love and adoration that comes to us when we say just the right thing or say nothing at all but listen with a heart that hears without judgment.  Everything we do leaves a mark.  Some marks wipe off just like chocolate syrup on a refrigerator and some are more long lasting and have residual effects.

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Have you ever noticed the quiet dialogue that we have within ourselves as we look in the mirror?  It can happen quickly and may not always be a kind voice.  It may sound something like this, "Yikes I'm not looking too good.  Were my eyes always so puffy?  Or "look at that pimple, wrinkle, flat butt, grey hair, large thighs or small breasts."  This voice has amazing focus and tends to spot what we believe is unattractive in us.  It can become a relentless self-deprecating finger-pointer that goes wherever we go.  Who is this critic and does it help us or hurt us?