The Masks We Wear

You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it Alan Moore
Have you ever felt like youre not the same person whose life youre living right
now? Do you often think that no one is really aware of the real you? Probably not
even you? Do you feel that you have actually changed a lot after going through a
major trauma in your life?
Have you ever faked it to get mingled with a group out there or to be accepted in
your social circle? How do you handle your failures or setbacks? Do you admit your
mistakes and realize where you went wrong? Or do you try to repress those
memories deep down somewhere? Have you gone grumpy and cranky lately, but
you somewhat believe that you are not this repulsive maniac you are turning into?
Are you willing to change this situation but you have got no idea how to do it? Well,
you can find answers to all these questions when you will take off that mask you
are wearing!
But hey! We dont wear any kind of mask in real life right? We are neither any of the
superhero vigilantes nor any luchador wrestlers and then which mask exactly is this
blog asking you to take off? Well read on.
It has been a timeless norm that as soon as we begin to grow to our senses, the
surrounding starts to impose its expectations upon us. In a world where attributes
like strength, valiance, success and righteousness are sought, admired or
worshiped; it is needless to say that any modest divergence from these are
reckoned undesirable and detestable.
So as a result, consciously or sub-consciously we start wearing this mask of deceit
to fool ourselves and others that we are not what we are but someone else,
something else. After putting on this mask we are able to escape our identity, our
reality, as well as our own demons. Rather than accepting our own actions, our
fragilities and vulnerabilities we prefer to veil them with it.
But, there will be a few of us, brave enough to avoid this mask for a certain period
of time but a day surely arrives when the savagery of this world forces us to own it
too.
Through this mask, we may begin to project ourselves as heroic and virtuous or
sinful and villainous, even if deep down we are all the same, mere humans. We may
start to feel powerful too. But when at any instance we fall and our frailty beneath
the mask is about to get revealed, we start playing the game of blame, so that our
own focus as well as of others shifts from seeing the real weak in us to something
else.
We will begin by blaming the system for everything, and then we will go on to
blame our partners or exes for failing the relation, we will blame our superiors for
the stalled promotion and we will even manage to point out all possible flaws of the
poor pet to make it a subject of all our miseries.

Then gradually, for the sake of justifying all our actions we will fanatically convince
ourselves and others that our life is a grand story scripted by the white bearded
God, so we can do nothing about it.
We will even blame him for writing it in the wrong way and sometimes we will try to
bribe him to change the storylines for us. So in short, all these problems and
distresses will start to arise when we stop or deny distinguishing ourselves from
these masks.
Although, some of us may argue that, what is the real need of taking off this mask
while its giving us the purpose to live? Or in Shakespearean words, these masks
assign us the characters we are meant to play in this worldly stage, which is
agreeable to some extent too. But this masked delusion where we try to hide
ourselves for a long time tends to consume us if we are not on our toes while
putting it on the whole time. We may become addicted to it so much so that we will
start preferring this mask over our true selves. This exaggerated power of the mask
will make us feel ashamed of our own reality and we will start becoming the person
we are not meant to be.
Later, when we cant bear these changes in us anymore and we finally try to take
that mask off to return to our jovial, carefree or gregarious self again, we will be left
with only regrets and chaos with our true old self being gone by that time, lost in
the wilderness.
If you are still not getting the picture of what is being said, then imagine what would
happen when a great actor playing a villain on stage gets trapped in that character
forever and steps out in the real world with it.
This mask that we begin to wear to enshroud our weaknesses, with time becomes
the only weakness of our lives.
But in todays world, it has become essential for us to put on these masks so as to
survive this rat race. We cannot just go around showing our naked self to others; we
cannot let everyone know our fears or our shortcomings. We are only allowed to
show our strength or fortitude to this world, which is only possible if we wear that
mask.
So, what can we really do about it? Can we bring a balance between this masked
persona and our real self? Is there a way out of it? The answer is a YES.
There are definitely certain powerful ways through which we can manage to remain
attached to our real self even when our masks are on:
Self Awareness: One of the first and foremost things to do is to be aware of what
we are. We should know the saint or the evil in us and our strengths or weaknesses
within. We must introspect ourselves through meditation or dhyana. We must ask
the inner light about what we need to show and what we need to hide. Through this
self awareness we will also be able to eradicate all the negativity from our lives. And
in this way we will know where or when we need to put on that mask and when to
put it off.

Acceptance: Secondly we should accept ourselves the way we are. We need to be

true to ourselves. We need to accept our weaknesses, our fears, and our flaws. We
should stop being ashamed of ourselves. We should embrace our failures the way
we own our strengths or our achievements. We must accept the fact that we are all
full of imperfections and that to err, to cry or to lose is human too. We should stop
fearing the fear of defeat. Acceptance delivers forgiveness and forgiveness brings
peace to our minds. Without accepting where we are we will never be able to know
where we need to go. It is only through acceptance that we will be able to see
ourselves and the reasons for which we had to put on that mask.
Staying Positive: Positivity is one of the greatest gifts one can ever possess. We
should always stay positive and keep believing in ourselves, no matter what. We
must keep reminding ourselves the fights we have fought and the battles we have
won. If we continue to stay positive through every ups and downs of life, we would
seldom need a mask to rely upon. Positivity always brings out the best in us. It is an
art to learn, practice and teach. No matter what happens in our lives, whatever
storm we are facing right now, staying positive should be our only option. Always
remember, what defines us is how well we rise after falling.
Opening Up: We should always try to open up our real selves to someone or the
other. Keeping the mask aside we should always let some people know about our
fears, emotions and vulnerabilities. They can be your parents, your lover, your
friends, support groups, forums or psychiatrists. But, if you are skeptic about
opening up to someone or shy to do so, you can always write it down in a diary too.
That way, you will always remain connected to your real self.
Enjoying Our Real Self: We should always enjoy the company of our real self. We
should learn to find some exclusive time for ourselves, during which we can
disassociate ourselves from the mask. Making some trips alone, visiting the people
we miss or we like to be around, calling our parents and friends often, having those
tasty delicacies we have been planning to try, reading some good novels, learning a
new language or an instrument to play, watching a few movies of our favorite stars
or listening to our favorite bands or anything which makes us believe at that
moment that its us, our real selves.

So overall, as long as we are connected to ourselves from within,

the mask will not be able to replace our true identity. We should
never forget that life is all about living our lives the way we like
and not about how this world wants us to. We should also believe
and take pride in our true selves no matter what our flaws are.

And for the rest of the world we can have our masks on!