'Tear Off The Mask, Your Face Is Glorious'- Rumi
How often have we felt insecure, doubting ourselves and our capabilities. It is rare to meet someone who has never suffered from low self esteem, who has chose to live behind a mask, rather than show their true self.
Some are even too frighten to discover who they are, believing that they would be unworthy, a disappointment if they did not become the person that they are expected to become.
So many of us grow up in a world where our path has already been laid out for us and if we do not follow it, we believe that we would be seen as a failure. So much doubt and fear clouds our minds, making it difficult to be who we truly are.
So we create this persona, someone we think would be respected and valued. A mask that allows us to integrate into society, to become a part of the crowd.
For sure, we are social beings and we want to have community around us, we strive to fit in! But at what cost?
Are we denying ourselves from reaching our full potential? Have we become so comfortable, Hiding behind our masks. Allowing ourselves to be influenced by others, instead of taking the lead and being our own main influencer? Convincing ourselves that repetition is a source of security, not daring to take a step into the unknown. To break away from the norm and allow yourself to take charge.
Because how can we ever really know who we are, if we just continue to allow others to tell us what to do, to tell us how to live. We believe that we are protecting ourselves, when we wear these masks, but really we are hiding away from who we really are!
Creating these masks, and wearing them, takes a lot of energy and can often leave us feeling exhausted. Masks that we wear to cover up how we really feel, so afraid to express our emotions, for fear of contempt. All of this puts us under so much pressure, affecting us on every level.
No wonder there is so much stigma surrounding mental health, when so many of us are often too afraid to show our true feelings! This begins from a young age, when we are told not to cry, or to quieten down, or not to get so anger. So we adapt by masking our real feelings, so as not to upset or annoy anyone.
But now, now it is no longer just a metaphor. Today most people I see are wearing physical masks, on top of the metaphorical ones. Just adding another layer to their disconnect. Again listening to others, letting them tell you how to live.
At the beginning, many believed that we needed to wear them, but now, now the truth has come out and these masks that are being enforced onto people are more about a sign compliance.
But in a way, I see these masks as representing the times in which we live in, because 2020 is the year of the reveal! All the corruption and brainwashing is being brought to light, and it is forcing us to take a good look at ourselves and our beliefs. Yet some refuse to see this, instead wishing to hide behind their new masks. Not yet ready to face the reality of the world, and the reality of who they are.
We face a time where we must make a decision, to step away from a system that has controlled us and make our own way, returning to our sovereign self. Or continue to live within a world that will manipulate us for their own gain. It really is up to each one of us,to make a stand.To take back responsibility for our lives.
To rip off our masks, so that we can stand in our power and take our place in creating a better world. Where once we silence ourselves by putting on a mask now we are being silenced by those who are enforcing these physical masks.
watching and waiting,
drifting off into hidden spaces,
feeling small, within the doors that we creep through,
entering into the warmth of our embrace.
lucid dreaming,
in the waves that carry us forward,
taken by gentle songs that propel us
towards our destinies.
projecting our visions into the sky
ablaze with red and orange,
fires that fuel the creative spirit
that take us to greater heights
as we soar into the night.
our dreams are already happening,
we walk amongst the people that we seek to become,
finally we see!
finally.
we allow our masks to drop to the floor,
and our breathe takes in the wisdom,
of those who went before
our connection felt, as our chests rise and fall.
Silence,
understanding ,
our wings have finally broken free,
with nothing holding us back,
We step out
and create our own stories!
This is my second entry into the Natural Medicine Community Challenge, I had wanted to write an answer,to one of the other 2 ideas that were put forward, but instead I had to share a quote that has meant a lot to me in that past and even more now, in the present.