What I look like wearing a mask
On Halloween, you can put a mask on and pretend to be someone you're not, and it's socially acceptable.
Most of us are wearing masks on the other 364 days a year too. But we don't realized it. This doesn't mean you're going to see a bunch of Darth Vaders walking around in May. It means we're wearing masks unconsciously - without being aware of it.
This is a picture of me wearing a face mask. This mask was intentional. I was conscious of putting it, and how it made me feel differently. The purpose of this mask was vanity - it promised to give me a hydrated and refreshed face.
The other masks we wear are less intentional - meaning we usually don't even realize we put it on. For example, do you ever act differently at work than you do at home? That difference in behavior is related to a mask!
We wear mask to make us seem more professional, more spiritual, more compassionate... you can wear a mask for any reason you need to be different from you're true self.
This is a picture of me wearing my professional mask. The purpose is to make me look more professional. What do you think? Is it working? The obvious change is that I have glasses on.
What else do you notice? I'm not smiling. Somewhere I "learned" that not smiling will make me seem more serious and professional. Not sure that's true now.
This is a picture of me wearing my strength mask. I like to feel strong. I want people to think I'm strong. So displaying it by flexing in a photo is a way to get that point across.
How do you think it's working? What's your response to that picture? My response... not so good. It's too forced. Not authentic. Not as approachable as I usually am.
You wear masks without even knowing it.
You wear masks as a false sense of security.
You wear masks to be liked or accepted.
You wear masks to keep others at a distance.
But what if you decided not to wear a mask anymore? What would be different? How would you feel? How would you be more vulnerable? More exposed?
What would you stand to gain?