THE MASKS WE WEAR

It has always been my guiding principle in life that there is more to what we can see on the surface. This has helped me a lot so as not to be judgmental over others. This has made me break in my mind the social stereotypes that our society has dictated ever since the world began.

Whenever I see people from close and afar, I am reminded by the poem which I usually share to my friends especially during "Getting to know myself and others" sessions. It is a good reminder for us to REGAIN the SENSITIVITY, the human TOUCH, the COMPASSION we are constantly losing because of the emotional pollutants the present world has.

THE MASKS I WEAR

Don’t be fooled by me. Don’t be fooled by the face I wear.
For I wear a mask, a thousand masks. Masks that I’m afraid to take off, and none of them is me.

Pretending is an art, that’s second nature to me. But don’t be foled.
I give you the impression that I’m secure… that confidence is my name and coolness is my game… that the water’s calm and I’m in command… and that I need no one.
But don’t believe me! My surface may seem smooth but my surface is my mask, ever varyiong and ever concealing.
Beneath lies no complacence. Beneath lies confusion and fear and aloneness.

But I hide this. I don’t want anybody to know it.
I panic at the thought of my weakness and fear being exposed.
That’s why I franctically create a mask to hide behind.
A nonchalant sophisticated façade, to help me pretend… to shield me from the glance that knows. But such a glance is precisely my salvation. My only hope, and I know it.

an excerpt...