The Masks We Wear

I am a free spirit and I love learning new things every day.

I am an empath, and my passion is to help, nurture and to inspire others.

Although I have a degree and many other certifications (I repeat, I LOVE learning new things ), some of my biggest learnings have come from the school of the “Hard Knocks of Life”.

At times my life story seemed like it was part of a script for a bloody soap opera. Looking back, I sometimes cannot believe what I have been through, both good and bad experiences, and I am still here to tell the tale!

I am often told that I am lucky, and that I am resilient and even tough. I am supposedly the “strong one”.

I guess I can see those characteristics in myself, but I am also human. I bleed and hurt like everybody else. I just found a way over the years to mask my pains and fears. Well, at least I thought so.

Yes, I was hiding the yukky stuff, the deep ugly heartache, the incredible shame, the loss of so much and so many. I didn’t want others to see my pain. I needed to show up as that strong woman everyone told me I was.

My mask protected me in a way. But a mask is only for the outer world.

At night you have to take the mask off and look at yourself in the mirror.

And if you don’t like what you see, there is no running from it. You can try to cover it up with makeup, or a hoody, or a balaclava!! Or you can choose to turn and look the other way. But that is only a temporary fix, and it becomes tiring.

It drains you. It’s not sustainable.

And masks can come in many forms. They can be physical or emotional responses (or lack thereof) to certain situations. Just anything really, in order so as not to show anyone how you are actually feeling.

So my question for you today is:

What mask are you wearing?

Pause and think about it for a moment.

Sometimes it takes a while to acknowledge our masks, if we even REALISE we are wearing them.

Perhaps you are struggling to find an answer here, but dig a little deeper. You will recognize it when you see it.

Let me help you by starting off with myself…

My mask is made up of a combination of twisted humour and laughing things off to change the subject, sprinkled with a dash of “couldn’t give a F***-ness”.

Tell me about YOUR mask.