"We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves."
~François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
I read a book a couple years ago on Self-Image Psychology, and one chapter that stood out for me was the "unveiling of masks." It made so much sense to me. The really abridged version of the chapter is that people create these false self-images of themselves and they mask who they truly are, their true potential, their true feelings, and walk around on this earth pretending to be something they really aren't. Or in my own terms, living a lie.
I have known too many people who wear these type of masks. They walk this earth and face everyone they come in contact with, and the exterior can be a lieu of different things. I have seen masks of people that were happy go-lucky, I have seen masks of fear, I have seen masks of woe-is-me, and I have seen masks that are absolutely expressionless. But what is underneath the mask is totally opposite and completely different!
What is really under the masks is the true being of that person. And the reason why they mask them is because they are either afraid to confront their true being, or face the feelings they have underneath the masks, or they are trying to put on a "show" for other people to believe about them. The worst thing anyone can do, in my opinion, is to live a lie about who you are and to live a lie to please others. Many put on masks for their friends, others for their parents, and many put on masks for themselves.
Living a lie has worse consequences than facing what is underneath the masks, and to throw away the masks. Once you go through what seems like the most terrifying and painful process in order to be true to yourself, can real happiness and content and PEACE set in. DO not get me wrong. There are times and places where masks are appropriate.You mask your feelings about how you feel about another person or a situation, or a place, or a gift, or maybe even someone's cooking! I don't know. But there ARE appropriate times to wear the mask and be polite, and other times it is appropriate to be bluntly honest. My flaw in life is the bluntly honest thing.
Do not live a lie. Some think it is right to do in order to keep peace. Some think it is right to deal with things. Some think it is right so you can move forward. But the truth is completely opposite. BY wearing a mask, you do the one great injustice to one person and one person alone: YOUR SELF! You deny yourself to truly be happy, you deny yourself to LIVE life, you deny yourself to ENJOY life, and you deny yourself to be who you truly are.
The hardest thing to do in this life is to live in it. Be Brave. Live! For yourself! Throw away the masks!
Yours in service,
ANDREW TRENTO
No comments:
Post a Comment