Masks

On my way to work the other day I started thinking about how we have to wear masks around other people. It came to my mind because I was hurting deeply and could not wear a mask. I decided that for that day I would let people see the face forged in hell. The hell that comes from decades of fighting with your thoughts and emotions, from the torture they put you through at times.

The frustrating part about masks is that the reason we wear them is because others expect us to wear them. Why do they expect it though?

They expect it because when we do not wear them, they see that not everyone’s life is rosy. They are forced to see that there are people who suffer just to get through a day. They are forced to see that things they take for granted are a struggle for others.

It shatters there fantasy world where people who are depressed can just will it away and “get over it”. They also think that people who are depressed are just being dramatic or feeling sorry for themselves. When we don’t wear those masks they are brought face to face with the reality year exists.

So they expect us to hide behind the masks so THEY don’t have to be uncomfortable or “inconvenienced” by our pain. When we don’t wear them, we are the ones who are vilified. We are told that we need to put on that mask for their comfort. We can be going through hell, but that is not relevant to them.

I remember once a few years back, I was having lunch with some friends. I don’t remember the whole conversation, but I remember saying something like “not everyone’s life is a rose garden.” One of my friends later told me that was one of the things they liked about me, that I kept the group rooted in the real world. I don’t know if anyone else felt the same way or not. This was about five or six years ago, yet I remember it clearly.

Maybe it is just me, but don’t you think there is a problem with society when we are expected to wear these masks so as not to “inconvenience” them or make their life “uncomfortable”?

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