The Mask

As humans we experience an array of emotions. Love, fear, joy, sadness, gratitude, jealousy, contentment, guilt, anger, faith, pride….what a spectrum! It is but human to feel and the truth is not one person who has walked on face of this earth could ever deny experiencing this range of emotions in their lifetime. Yet there is a deep stigma attached to some of these emotions.

Isn’t it also true that emotions are just transient states of mind? With a little self introspection and by tweaking our attitudes a little fear, sadness, anger and jealousy could be easily replaced with love, faith, gratitude, compassion, and ultimately bliss. How powerful it would be if we could teach our children to get in touch with their innermost feelings, accept them ,deal with them and move to higher grounds. Instead how often are they told to just be happy or be strong or smile so as to not reveal how they truly feel. Or worse still we now teach them to alter their moods or run away from how they are truly feeling with the click of a button.

Then, my friends, wouldn’t that so called strength and happiness just be a mask ? Read on…..

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Last year on the day of Halloween,
A little boy strutted around in his ninja suit green,
Complete with a mask, abs and a puffed up chest,
A sword stashed away in his belt now at rest,
Ready to take on the world he did seem,
Conquering evil was not just a dream,
Unafraid he marched up and down the street,
In a booming voice yelling “Trick or treat”
Until from the corner of his eye he saw a dog yelp,
Then he stopped in his tracks and screamed for help.
Alas little did the boy know,
The mask wouldn’t transform his fears so…
Don’t we as adults do this all the time,
We hide our true feelings as if to reveal is a crime,
We put on masks of ego and pride,
Though we feel vulnerable deep inside,
We put up a stoic front, pretend to be brave,
Though we shudder within and for warmth we crave,
We push people we love the most,
Trample their feelings and then of victory we boast
We use our temper as a mighty shield
Angry words like swords we wield,
We feign indifference, pretend we don’t care,
Of the hurt we cause we are unaware,
Or sometimes it is the other way around,
We smile though deep within sadness mounds,
We pretend to laugh ,that all is well
When actually within waves of fury swell,
All this because to reveal our emotions is weak?
To love, to feel, to cry is meek?
What will happen come judgement day?
Like the little boy’s, our masks too will be washed away.

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