Masquerade

There is a reason masks can be simultaneously scary and beautiful... especially those used for Mardi Gras and masquerades. They're decorated so lovely, designed to draw attention to themselves, to elicit admiration. At the same time, though, what you're beholding is merely a shield - an elaborate disguise whose sole purpose is to conceal the identity of the face behind it. Now, I don't have the slightest clue where this ritual began, and I have no intention of slipping into the Wikipedia wormhole right now to find out. What I do know, though, is that it's no secret that we wear these metaphorical masks on a daily basis. But I have to wonder - why has this been so often regarded as a bad thing? Is it even fair to expect that a person completely reveal every little aspect of his personality, attitudes, opinions, etc. in every situation? Isn't it actually preferable that we sometimes hide certain things at certain times for the sake of harmony or social acceptance? In other words, is it ok to be who you are at all times, to be true to you, without just laying out all of who you are on the sidewalk for everyone all the time?

The reality is that we want others to sometimes withhold a bit of their true selves... we want to imagine them in a certain way, to fashion the gaps in our minds... we want to decorate that beautiful mask in whatever way fits us. The truth is, we want to love people for who we believe they are... and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

That said, I do firmly believe that you should feel free to be who you are. Contradictory? Sure, you could read it that way. But it's more about the fact that to be who you are doesn't imply that you have to flagrantly flash each multifaceted detail of your very complex being all at once. Each piece is its own unique part of you, and each one is authentically you. Revealing true pieces of yourself is not dishonesty - it's simple truth. For me, it just means being kind but honest. If the joke is funny, I laugh. If the story is sad, I cry. It's just "being"... simply. The masks we wear have a purpose... they help us maintain that simplicity while guarding the complexity beneath. The intricate nature of our beings can't be entirely understood by us, let alone by another person whose own intricacies will shade his or her perceptions and comprehension of who you are.

We're intrigued by one another for this reason... always seeking to delve deeper, to uncover a bit more. It's part of what makes social interaction so incredibly interesting. It's wanting to know what's under the mask... but not wanting to tear it away entirely... because that mask sure is beautiful... and we love to look at it and wonder, "Who's under there?"