Regarding vanity, I suppose if you were having dinner with Saint John Maximovitch he would make a point of ladling his soup over his mustache and beard and then “making himself up” to mock you. Not being a fool—or not at least in that sense!—I shall keep my own soup in the bowl. If you find yourself struggling further with this, however, we can together ponder some strategies. Perhaps a Buddhist meditation or two on what you are going to look like after a few years in your grave. Try superimposing that over the image that looks back from your mirror. In the meantime, you might simply ask the Virgin, as you go to work or to your violin lesson, to help you guard your thoughts and be sober and modest.