Do you wear a mask?

In fifth-century Athens, when two actors played all the parts in a Greek theatre production, the actors would wear different masks to signify a different persona. Can you picture having a conversation with someone holding up a mask? Well many of us do it every day. Now you know I’m not being literal here. I’m talking about an invisible mask that magically shields our thoughts, energy and emotions from others.

Why would someone wear a mask? One reason is they think that if people knew who they really were, they wouldn’t be liked, respected or even loved. As a result we hold up a mask of the person that we want others to see. We do this to protect ourselves because we may feel we don’t measure up and we don’t want people to see us. Some have held their mask for so long that they don’t know what it feels like without the mask.

Holding up a mask takes an inordinate amount of energy … being you takes much less. It's about accepting yourself for who you are. Loving the imperfect you. The first step is awareness. Ask yourself in every interaction "is this the real me". If you can do this you are on your way to reclaiming that energy.