We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves. Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Masks can be fun...short-term. And masks are really only meant for frivolity, not for hiding behind. Too many of us wear masks. Oh nobody else may be able to physically see a mask but we all have, at one time or another, constructed an invisible one for our hearts and our faces. We have created masks out of fear, insecurity, anger. Those are the usual culprits. Almost any reason we can think of for our masks has a root that lies in one of those characteristics. And some of us have worn the mask for so long that we can't remember who we truly are underneath. In fact, we have forgotten that we are not the mask! And so we lose ourselves and if we never run into someone who can and does remind us of who we really are at the core then we end up living a fake life - one that is controlled by the mask.
It makes me think of the 1994 movie with Jim Carrey in it, "The Mask". At first wearing the mask makes Stanley feel uncomfortable but the more he wears it the more he forgets who he really is and he begins to turn into this person that on the surface seems okay but really underneath he's transforming into someone he doesn't recognize. The mask has a pull and he feels himself literally drawn to it. He kind of likes how the mask transforms him and yet he recognizes it isn't really who he is. Trying to get rid of the mask proves to be difficult, he throws it and it boomerangs back into his hands. The mask keeps enticing him.
The masks we construct operate the same way. At the beginning they make us feel good and safe, maybe even emboldened in new ways that seem to be healthy. But the longer we wear them the more uncomfortable we begin to feel, if we are really honest with ourselves. We begin to transform into someone we don't recognize, nor does anyone else. And when we try to remove the mask we find it much more difficult than we ever anticipated. The mask has become an unhealthy way to live life, it has become a weight instead of freedom. We don't know who we are anymore, we have lost sight of our core.
Recognize any masks you've been wearing lately? Please begin the work today of removing the mask for good. You will be a much healthier person - mentally, emotionally, spiritually, perhaps even physically - if you allow your true self, with all of your fears, anger, and insecurities, to be exposed so that others can come alongside of you. You will experience a freedom that can really only come out of being you and not hiding behind anything else.
Are you afraid of getting to know yourself? Some people are afraid to discover who they really are. Don't be afraid, explore you - discover yourself!
Have you ever seen the movie "The Mask"? It's pretty good...
Masks can be fun...short-term. And masks are really only meant for frivolity, not for hiding behind. Too many of us wear masks. Oh nobody else may be able to physically see a mask but we all have, at one time or another, constructed an invisible one for our hearts and our faces. We have created masks out of fear, insecurity, anger. Those are the usual culprits. Almost any reason we can think of for our masks has a root that lies in one of those characteristics. And some of us have worn the mask for so long that we can't remember who we truly are underneath. In fact, we have forgotten that we are not the mask! And so we lose ourselves and if we never run into someone who can and does remind us of who we really are at the core then we end up living a fake life - one that is controlled by the mask.
It makes me think of the 1994 movie with Jim Carrey in it, "The Mask". At first wearing the mask makes Stanley feel uncomfortable but the more he wears it the more he forgets who he really is and he begins to turn into this person that on the surface seems okay but really underneath he's transforming into someone he doesn't recognize. The mask has a pull and he feels himself literally drawn to it. He kind of likes how the mask transforms him and yet he recognizes it isn't really who he is. Trying to get rid of the mask proves to be difficult, he throws it and it boomerangs back into his hands. The mask keeps enticing him.
The masks we construct operate the same way. At the beginning they make us feel good and safe, maybe even emboldened in new ways that seem to be healthy. But the longer we wear them the more uncomfortable we begin to feel, if we are really honest with ourselves. We begin to transform into someone we don't recognize, nor does anyone else. And when we try to remove the mask we find it much more difficult than we ever anticipated. The mask has become an unhealthy way to live life, it has become a weight instead of freedom. We don't know who we are anymore, we have lost sight of our core.
Recognize any masks you've been wearing lately? Please begin the work today of removing the mask for good. You will be a much healthier person - mentally, emotionally, spiritually, perhaps even physically - if you allow your true self, with all of your fears, anger, and insecurities, to be exposed so that others can come alongside of you. You will experience a freedom that can really only come out of being you and not hiding behind anything else.
Are you afraid of getting to know yourself? Some people are afraid to discover who they really are. Don't be afraid, explore you - discover yourself!
Have you ever seen the movie "The Mask"? It's pretty good...
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