The Secret language of Subtlety

A shrug, a nod, a look, how many times have we seen these hints and sped past them like when we blow a stop sign? We know they are there but we just might have "overlooked" them or flat out ignored them. Couples around the world can attest to the secret language of subtlety. When their partner is in a bad mood the know it, like a disturbance in the force, or a sixth sense, they can feel it. But how do we not only identify these signs but understand what they mean for a particular person. Lord knows how many wars have been fought under the same roof over a "miscommunication." Something gets lost in translation and the entire message gets corrupted. We find ourselves time and time again looking at the aftermath asking, "What the hell went wrong?" The time we spend with our life-long companions, friends, coworkers, and most importantly family is crucial to decoding this language. I may feel great, enthusiastic about the day, or I might feel like crap. My external emotions might be telling a different story. I could be perceived as tired, happy, or angry. Our appearance is in the eye of the beholder, how they see us is how they will act towards us.
Our emotions sometimes seep through our facade and we "wear them on our sleeves" but most times, most of us are efficient at masking the pain. We wear our poker face and bluff our way through the day, who knows, we could have been in excruciating pain but nobody was ever the wiser about it. This apart of playing the "political game" being able to fool others around you into thinking one thing but your hidden agenda could be another thing entirely. I personally do not play this game. I despise it and I get tired of it. I waste enough of my time and energy trying to survive every week, why do I want to add more weight to carry?
Everyone is different with how they show their emotions, but one thing holds true for all of us, we show our emotion, the key is recognizing when it occurs. My aunt looks pissed, always. At a party, she sits with her arms crossed and he jaw set. At a family barbecue, she sits with her arms crossed and her jaw set. When she watches T.V., she sits with you guessed it her arms crossed and her jaw set. Now walk up to her and do or say something remotely, humorous and she will bust up laughing. Why? Because that is how she expresses herself. She wears that badass, tough cookie, take no crap, facade but she really is a funny and interesting person. We all have our secret languages, if you want to figure it out it doesn't take a P.H.D. just get to know the person and try to see things from their eyes. What are they thinking, how are they feeling, what is going on in their life? These questions race through my head when I see someone sitting there and I figure, "what the heck, I might as well go say hi what's the worst that can happen." It works for me, who knows socialization could be the secret decoder ring we need to solve this.