The Human Mask

We all have something to hide. We are all scared to show off who we really are. We usually don’t have the courage to be able to be confident enough of who we are for reasons such as not being able to fit in, rejection, humiliation and worst be viewed as a big joke. My point is that each of us wears a mask to be able to hide these things and spare us from imminent breakdown, especially in terms of self confidence and esteem.

Each day we meet someone new. Honestly, their first impression will certainly be not whom they really are. Personalities vary and it takes time, sometimes more than just a lifetime, to be able to know a person. People get married because they feel they have gotten to know each other quite well. But if this is so, then why do people change? Why do people end up parting ways, most of the time in favor of someone else?

So perhaps most readers are now thinking, what does this got to do with a mask? Lets start by how a mask is defined.

A mask is a piece of material or kit worn on the face. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes. It is used as a form of protection to hide identities.

Hiding identities is something common at first glance. Besides, rarely do we see people who can fully give their trust to new found acquaintances. People are afraid to give in, reveal their inner self. Some have taken the fall. Taking off their mask immediately only to find themselves stumbling, falling and being laughed at with nothing else to hold on for retribution. By the time a person feels that he needs to wear his mask again, it is already too late. Secrets have been revealed, leaving them in personal anguish. Taking a chance to people whom they thought they had known is already a toll in itself towards wrecking the overall confidence and security a person has. So how can a person stand up and get back on his feet and goon with what life has to offer?

Finally, the real question is, when do we take off our masks? Rather, do we have any plans of taking them off? The problem really lies in the people themselves. Masks are made to cover up and seemingly become measuring sticks of being able to determine the proper time to totally reveal their true inner self. People don’t think much of this. People who trust easily, fall easily and are gullible at times because entrusting people immediately seems to be harmless is really harmful in the inner self. This is something that people do not really see, the mental anguish that people feel when they are alone. But then again, would they care? So far, based on the people I have met and considered close friends, I would say they don’t give a damn.

A mask can stay on for eternity. For all we know, we are already in another world still wearing the very same mask we wore when we started to enter this world. For the people who have already taken them off, well correct me if I am wrong that most of the experiences that they had after such are not appealing. For the ones who haven’t well, the time to take it off is in your hands, the decision on taking it off, or simply wearing it for the sake of personal sanity.