I was on my way to the train station, when a lady from a makeshift beauty parlour popped in front of me with a "Miss, would you like to trim your eyebrows?" I have a rather relaxed approach towards grooming issues that plague fellow member of my species and even have the temerity to flaunt less than immaculately waxed legs in skirts - perhaps I was French in my previous birth. But such is the power of suggestion that I peered a few times into reflective surfaces to check if indeed my eyebrows were so overgrown that it merited being waylaid on the street. Perhaps the black spots I keep seeing in front of my eyes were actually the ends of my unkempt brows, I was tempted to conclude. Then the scrutiny extended to other parts of the face - and before I knew it I felt like a hirsute abomination, fit to be showcased at the next travelling circus (Ok, I am exaggerating, but there seemed to be less face and more hair on my face than before).
It got me thinking about the power of suggestion. Could I boost people's self image similarly by popping up in front of them with random questions. "Could you PLEASE tell me what shampoo you use?" Would it naturally suggest that the person I intercepted has luscious hair and therefore explain my exigent need to know what shampoo bestowed that quality upon the said hair? Or would it simply establish me as a lunatic? The power of suggestion works only to reinforce the negative it would seem. Why are we so willing to believe the worst about ourselves? If I ever got a second look from a stranger on the street, my immediate reaction is to check for a "wardrobe malfunction" (thank you Janet so much for giving us that shorthand). Is it just me?
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