Who’s Behind That Mask?

Thanks to COVID, we are living in the age of masks.  If you’re like me, you’re getting tired of wearing these little “germ rags” as I call them, but you comply because you have to and because you think it’s better to be safe than sorry, which of course is a fear motivated response. Even scarier, now the CDC is saying maybe we should wear double masks, just to be safe! 

I remember back in March, shortly after the mask mandates came down, retailers began offering color coordinated masks to match their outfits.  At first, I thought this was silly.  How long are we going to have to wear these things that we should go out and buy masks to make a fashion statement?  Do we really need masks with pretty patterns and even rhinestones on them? Then I realized it was pure marketing genius!  I mean, if we have to wear these things, we might as well make a fashion statement! Fancy Nancy (as some of my friends affectionately call me) found a new way to accessorize!!!! Yes!

I have even found some other benefits to wearing them.  After all, it’s a lot less easy to run out of the house to the grocery store without makeup when nobody can see your face.  As a Realtor who has had her business photo plastered on the back of local grocery carts, I can tell you, there are times when I really don’t want anyone to recognize me so masks serve me well here!  I am also not running out of lipstick as there is no point in wearing it when it just gets smeared inside your mask.

These side benefits have caused me to think about the metaphorical masks we wear.  The cloth masks cover our faces, yes, but metaphorically speaking, what are the other masks we may be hiding behind? 

Whenever we pretend to be something or someone we aren’t, we are hiding behind a mask of sorts.  This is especially true when we feel we must don this mask to fit in with the crowd.  We may not even realize we are doing this because it has become second nature to us. Think about it.  Do you sometimes wear a “mask” to fit in?  To be accepted?  Are you sometimes afraid to say what you really want to say? Does wearing a mask allow you to camouflage the fear you are hiding behind?  And what is that fear?  Fear of rejection.  Fear of being honest. Fear of showing your true feelings. Fear of revealing your true self……..  Is there something you are hiding from in your life?

We sometimes hear in the news about a CIA operative or some government official working inside of top security clearance as being “unmasked,” which of course, means to reveal their true identity and consequently put them at great risk.  To take the mask off is to leave one vulnerable, exposed.  You can no longer hide.  I can think of a couple of times in my life when I have felt such vulnerability. 

A famous American poet once said:

“It is so wonderful when you meet someone who already has their mask off in this masquerade of life.”  P. T. Berkey. 

Isn’t this the truth?  I find it so refreshing to meet the person who is just unapologetically themselves.

Are we sometimes guilty of masquerading through life, pretending to be someone or something other than who we are meant to be?  Do you know people who pretend to be something they are not?  Who live behind the illusion of the perfect life, seemingly having everything but you know it’s all a house of cards? Who are the people in your life you feel free to be yourself around and don’t feel the need to ‘mask up?”

Do you sometimes feel like you must comply even though it goes against the grain of who you really are or what you believe in?  And if so, isn’t this really just another form of bullying, to be forced to comply out of fear of retribution?  Why do we tolerate this in the workplace or in our relationships with others?  If we are the anti-bullying culture, shouldn’t we stand up to all forms of bullying?

I don’t know about you, but I will be glad when we can get back to normal and stop with the mask-wearing and worse, the mask shaming, for a couple of reasons. 

It will mean the virus is under control.

We will be able to see each other’s beautiful faces again.

We can stop living in fear.

Whatever illusion you may be hiding behind, there is nothing more beautiful than the pure and simple truth.  So for now, don’t be afraid to pull down your mask and let people see the real you, living Fearlessly and Faithfully.