In
order to survive in this world, we inevitably wear masks. These masks are not
deception but a social necessity. They serve as protective armour for our self-defence.
Actors on stage or in film change masks every day—sometimes a king, sometimes a
beggar, sometimes a villain, sometimes a deity. Yet these masks are not
confined to performances alone. In real life, each of us also acts behind
masks.
Take a husband and wife, for example. The same couple who hurls insults at each other in private will don a mask of love at home, cooing sweet nothings. They do this because they want to keep their household intact and preserve their standing in society.
In politics, the game of masks grows even more intricate. A nation’s leader embraces the head of an adversary state, wearing a façade of friendship that we see on television. But beneath that veneer lie suspicion, danger, and carefully laid strategies.
Lawyers enter courtrooms and defend those who plunder the public, all under a mask of falsehood. Their role is to win arguments, not to uncover truth.
Teachers adopt a mask of ideal authority in front of their students, hiding their personal aches, dissatisfaction, and exhaustion behind that composed exterior.
An employee, even if dissatisfied, will wear a mask of humility before the boss, because a good salary and promotion are at stake.
At social gatherings, we bury loneliness, stress, and sorrow beneath a cheerful mask, laughing and chatting as if all is well. Even when we feel ourselves crumbling inside, we still say, “I’m fine.”
To achieve success in life, one must maintain a well-organized wardrobe of masks. We need different masks for different occasions—sometimes humility, sometimes self-assurance, sometimes compassion, sometimes strictness. Those who can deploy the right mask at the right time and place truly succeed. Wealth, a car, a house, a beautiful spouse, and social prestige follow their triumph.
In playing this mask game, do we forget our true face? We wear so many masks that, in the end, it becomes hard to recognize ourselves. Our genuine feelings, real thoughts, and true sorrows get suppressed. We lose sight of whether we are engaging with others as our authentic selves or through yet another mask. Mental stress and depression take hold.
Wearing masks is essential to navigate the world, but we must also learn to remove them and connect sincerely. That requires setting aside a few minutes each day to converse with our own inner being. We must tear off and discard the masks that wound our spirit and cause mental or physical strain. Instead of speaking with the mask of others’ expectations, we should find the courage to speak without any mask about what is right.
Take a husband and wife, for example. The same couple who hurls insults at each other in private will don a mask of love at home, cooing sweet nothings. They do this because they want to keep their household intact and preserve their standing in society.
In politics, the game of masks grows even more intricate. A nation’s leader embraces the head of an adversary state, wearing a façade of friendship that we see on television. But beneath that veneer lie suspicion, danger, and carefully laid strategies.
Lawyers enter courtrooms and defend those who plunder the public, all under a mask of falsehood. Their role is to win arguments, not to uncover truth.
Teachers adopt a mask of ideal authority in front of their students, hiding their personal aches, dissatisfaction, and exhaustion behind that composed exterior.
An employee, even if dissatisfied, will wear a mask of humility before the boss, because a good salary and promotion are at stake.
At social gatherings, we bury loneliness, stress, and sorrow beneath a cheerful mask, laughing and chatting as if all is well. Even when we feel ourselves crumbling inside, we still say, “I’m fine.”
To achieve success in life, one must maintain a well-organized wardrobe of masks. We need different masks for different occasions—sometimes humility, sometimes self-assurance, sometimes compassion, sometimes strictness. Those who can deploy the right mask at the right time and place truly succeed. Wealth, a car, a house, a beautiful spouse, and social prestige follow their triumph.
In playing this mask game, do we forget our true face? We wear so many masks that, in the end, it becomes hard to recognize ourselves. Our genuine feelings, real thoughts, and true sorrows get suppressed. We lose sight of whether we are engaging with others as our authentic selves or through yet another mask. Mental stress and depression take hold.
Wearing masks is essential to navigate the world, but we must also learn to remove them and connect sincerely. That requires setting aside a few minutes each day to converse with our own inner being. We must tear off and discard the masks that wound our spirit and cause mental or physical strain. Instead of speaking with the mask of others’ expectations, we should find the courage to speak without any mask about what is right.
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