If you heard me say in this scene you will wear a mask; followed by the words action – I’m going to guess that you might think that I was a director of a Broadway production, a fight choreographer for WWE Luchador wrestling match or some dance instructor for a Las Vegas show.
However, since I know that you are too smart to think that I was capable of doing any of those things and because I know you would never allow me to pull the proverbial wool over your eyes – I won’t even (allegorically) attempt to pull another mask over your face. Instead, I’m going to share with you one of my favorite quotes. Besides, when it comes to wearing masks, we seem to do a great job of putting them on without any outside assistance.
Only Those On Broadway Should Wear A Mask
Oliver Wendell Holmes former U.S. Supreme Court Justice once said “Without wearing any mask we are conscious of, we have a special face for each friend.” While the former Chief Justice’s statement is both unpretentious and candid, it is factually disturbing. His statement infers that we involuntarily create a façade for each friend.
If you choose to be as unpretentious as the late Chief Justice’s statement, you will find yourself in complete agreement with his point. If you choose to be honest with yourself, you definitely agree as I do – as an adult we have learned to wear not just one mask but we are experts at wearing multiple masks.
As Justice Holmes explained, most of the masks we wear we put on naively and instinctively. However, if truth is allowed to continue to reign, we must concede that there are also some masks that we wear purposely and calculatingly.
Somebody Stop Me
No matter the causes or explanation, there is a certainty – we need to stop wearing masks. As always, we need to correct our behavior primarily to appreciate the reality that this is our only life.
In case, you have forgotten – life is a not a simulation, life is real. There will be no lifetime do-overs. There are no lifespan restarts. This folks – is it!
Why then do we live wearing masks as if life is some theatrical production? Why, who and what are we trying to entertain or more likely deceive by wearing masks? Why do we treat our life as a dress rehearsal wearing mask after mask as if the gift of today – the right here and now – is some insignificant run-through?
Secondarily, transforming your daily mask wearing habit to a routine that is authentic and vulnerable is needed because your Mini-Me will model their life based on your behavior. If we wear masks, regrettably our children learn to wear masks.
When children see their models wearing masks, the challenge of being willing and appreciating the importance of living authentically, openly, purposely, passionately and urgently is made more difficult. Instead of living life genuinely and fervently, like a mini version of you should, children will learn to live each day the way you actually live it. Children will adopt living their life as if it were a movie or theatrical dummy run (pun intended) – simply going through the pretentious motions – imitating life.
Imitation of Life
http://youtu.be/jjXoof4oLYI
Imitation of Life is not just a classic movie. Imitation of life describes what most adults do each and every day. We lug our daily collection of masks with us every second of every day, imitating life. We imitate living the life we really want.
We wear a mask which disguises how much we despise our jobs. We wear a mask to camouflage our fear of changing our station in life. We wear a mask that conceals our heartache and sorrows. We wear a mask like a cloak attempting to deceive others into believing that we are without flaws and blemishes. We wear a mask that hides our truest passions and burning desires. We wear a mask to cover our inadequacies and insecurities. We mask with a smokescreen the truth that we are unwilling to live life on our terms and make our life the life we always dreamt it was going to be.
At almost every step of life’s journey, we masquerade as being something and someone we know ourselves not to be. We are our own Mardi Gras performers hiding our true identity behind our deceptive yet exquisitely fashioned masks. We want everyone to believe that our masks are fashioned with diamonds when in truth the shining jewels others see are nothing more than cubic zirconia.
Mini-Me Deserves Better
http://youtu.be/tkmi_UTsjtE
If we want authentic children who are able to live life to its fullest, we have to be consistently genuine models. We must first get rid of our masks. We must stop pretending.
Consider yourself forewarned, if we don’t get rid of our masks, we should not be shocked when we find out that our little princes or princesses are not the do-gooders we believed them to be. Parents who wear masks should not be surprised when they finally discover that the apple of our eye – who we thought had it altogether – are crumbling at their very core from the inability to deal with life’s stressors, disappointments and hardships.
Moreover, we should not be dismayed the day we learn that our growing bundles of joy are not the miniature versions of us that we had hoped. Instead, being shocked when we realize that our children have learned how to become exact replicas of us – great pretenders.
Our children watch and mimic us. If they are going to imitate anyone, wouldn’t you prefer that they mimic people who live authentically, openly, purposely, passionately and urgently? Shouldn’t children have the opportunity to live life without wearing a mask?
Isn’t life confusing and exhausting enough on its own without having to change into a different masks for each person and situation? Don’t you want your children to live without having to be in a continuous state of fatigue changing in and out of different mask for everyone they meet? Talk about delusional and tired.
Live Your Life
Give yourself and your children a chance to be real and energetic. Not only will retiring the masks be good for you and your children but all those who know you and really love you will be encouraged to take their masks off too. Life is real shouldn’t you be? Now go ahead get rid of your masks and start living your life!
What masks do you wear each day? What would happen if you stopped wearing your masks?
Wearing a mask comes from socialization and “fitting in.” Society demands it. Strangers, associates, even friends and family really don’t want to hear about how much we despise our job or anything else, sharing pain and heartache usually has one or another effect, disgust or shadenfreude. Then people avoid you. People are fake because society has taught us we have to be in order to fit in and get ahead. If people can teach their children to be honest, genuine, authentic and forthright and still fit in and get ahead, all the power to them. I wish you all great luck, you are going to need it.