Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Masks
We all wear masks most of the time. Don't believe that? Women wear make-up and often times I see that the less secure the person is with themselves the more make-up they wear. Men will often put up a strong front, even when they truly feel sad or hurt. Parents will hide fights from their children with forced smiles and cheer. Even authority figures put on a uniform, be it a police officer or a politician in his suit or a doctor in her scrubs, to "hide" the fact that they are no more or less than the rest of us. It is part of life to hide behind a mask of some kind. It is hard to understand why we all choose to wear our masks instead of putting ourselves out there, or maybe it's just that simple: we don't want to put ourselves out there. My biggest fear (and I have a strong feeling I'm not alone) is rejection. What could be worse than being rejected and pushed away from our fellow man? So we hide what we really feel, generally to more closely match what the majority seems to feel. But what if everyone is feeling the same way underneath those masks? Maybe it'd be a fun thing to try not wearing a mask so often, to let our true selves out more.
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So true. Make up is a mask and some women do put on ALOT. And it seem that the more insecure they are the more they put on and some seem to go as far as altering there image and hiding behind plastic surgery. Men seem to hide behind their body building or cocking them selves out. Buffing themselves out. I don't know how to phrase that. A protection defense or a way to make themselves look better.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with everything Sam has said. We as humans put up a shield to prevent us from being hurt both physically and emotionally. It would interesting to see what happens when we put our gaurds or "masks" down just for a day.
ReplyDeleteI agree as well. I feel that everyone is constantly trying to impress and be someone they aren't. I too fear rejection but I think it is worse to be accepted as a person that you aren't. If more people took off the masks and were genuine and comfortable with who they really are then I am sure there would be more happy people! I imagine it must be hard to put on a show everyday. Everyone should just be themselves, easier said than done though :)
ReplyDeleteWhile we hope to be our "true selves" after so many years behind our masks sometimes finding out true self is hard. We seek acceptance and shy away from rejection of others but the more we do that the more we lose our true identity. It is quite sad, but as humans it just seems to be what we do.
ReplyDeleteit would be so much healthier if we didn't base our identities on our shells...yet, we are all guilty on some level of judging people according to first impressions. Getting to know people beyond impressions takes time, sometimes lots of time and lots of work In some ways , I wonder whether our current "modern" way of accessing information quickly and our "western" inability to be patient makes us even less likely to take the time to get to know people...or are we getting to the point where our time is too valuable to invest in people, in social, personal interactions???
ReplyDeletedo we live in a crude , cruel world? have we ever been disappointed in other's responses, words, thoughts and actions...