Masks

[rgraham666]

Lies are most often told to fool ourselves.

 

[mismused]

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[Misty_Morning]

Lies are most often told to fool ourselves.

Hey, that's what my last fortune cookie said.

Do you have a side job that we don't know about?

 

[scriptordelecto]

Hey, that's what my last fortune cookie said.

Do you have a side job that we don't know about?

Rob...that sounds like a new AV title ....purveyor of Fortune Cookie Wisdom

 

[impressive]

I have become my mask. It is me. I built it, crafted it as I wanted to be/appear, and gradually grew into it. Each time I chose to do as my idealized self would do, I poured more of my soul into my mask until I reached a point where there was more of me in my mask than beneath it.

Now, my mask is strong, but beneath it ... is my void.

 

[drksideofthemoon]

Rob...that sounds like a new AV title ....purveyor of Fortune Cookie Wisdom

Hey, now that's the kind of a job I could learn to love...LOL

 

[mismused]

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[Nirvanadragones]

Another thought . . . if we're in the situation scriptordelecto mentioned, where we slip on a mask, while we're in the process of adapting to a new situation etc., then we want to really wear a mask to blend in . . . something that focuses the attention away from us. I'm thinking of school children in their uniforms, for example. But, for the person standing infront of us, it doesn't really matter what the reason is for the mask - it's still there. And they see the side of it that we don't. We could wear a blank mask, if that would serve the purpose. It's what the outside world observes, and how they interpret it, that matters just as much as the purpose of the mask. Even if we don't intend to deceive, we still might.

 

[rgraham666]

Hey, that's what my last fortune cookie said.

Do you have a side job that we don't know about?

Nope. Tried the fortune cookie business, doesn't pay worth shit.

*HUGS* imp. It only looks like a void because the mask takes up so much of your attention.

I loathe the idea of school uniforms. They simply reinforce the idea that we're human resources, not human beings.

 

[scriptordelecto]

Another thought . . . if we're in the situation scriptordelecto mentioned, where we slip on a mask, while we're in the process of adapting to a new situation etc., then we want to really wear a mask to blend in . . . something that focuses the attention away from us. I'm thinking of school children in their uniforms, for example. But, for the person standing infront of us, it doesn't really matter what the reason is for the mask - it's still there. And they see the side of it that we don't. We could wear a blank mask, if that would serve the purpose. It's what the outside world observes, and how they interpret it, that matters just as much as the purpose of the mask. Even if we don't intend to deceive, we still might.

All masks are a form of deception, intentional or otherwise. The fact that the world observes someone other than who we truly are implies that we have deceived. But, it does beg the question..can we ever truly show our unadorned, naked personalities, when they will be perceived differently by each person that we come in contact with?

 

[mismused]

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[rgraham666]

All masks are a form of deception, intentional or otherwise. The fact that the world observes someone other than who we truly are implies that we have deceived. But, it does beg the question..can we ever truly show our unadorned, naked personalities, when they will be perceived differently by each person that we come in contact with?

Just so. Our perceptions and other's perceptions are different things. the important thing is whether we can see ourselves clearly or not. And if we can live with what we see.

I expect our resident objectivists to flame me for this, but they hate me anyway.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

Yes, if you have become so convincing to others that you are able to convince yourself that it is real, when in fact it is not...does that make sense? That's what I have done.

Yes, except I really am the way it described to a large extent. Of course pop psych things are all a little dubious.

OK, I found it. I'm posting it on blurt if anyone wants to play - not here because I don't want to hijack Vana's thread.

 

[scriptordelecto]

Just so. Our perceptions and other's perceptions are different things. the important thing is whether we can see ourselves clearly or not. And if we can live with what we see.

I expect our resident objectivists to flame me for this, but they hate me anyway.

They can flame away. No one can be truly objective. Everything is subjective to our own views, which have been formed by disparate experiences that alter the way we see the world, and other people. I do believe that is exactly your point.

 

[Nirvanadragones]

They can flame away. No one can be truly objective. Everything is subjective to our own views, which have been formed by disparate experiences that alter the way we see the world, and other people. I do believe that is exactly your point.

We don’t see the world as it is, we see the world as we are ~ Anais Nin

Perhaps the rose-coloured glasses we look through is part of our masks.

 

[Chantilyvamp]

Here is another thought to throw into the mix. If we acknowledge that at some point, we attempt to remove some of our masks, that means that we put on the masks at some stage. Babies don't have them - we talk of the innocence of childhood. It's only when we start growing up that the masks appear.

I must admit my attempts to remove my masks have failed miserably. I fear to much and yet I fear nothing. To those who I love my friends and some family have seen me at my worst no masks no hiding. But others will never see me...maybe the snippets that shine through at points until I trust them enough to open myself to them.

I started putting my masks on at a very early age, they just changed as I got older. And some bacame layers of masks upon layers till you have to sift through to find who you really are. I accept this as my fate..my coping mechanism. I love my masks and the way they help me.

 

[lightsaver]

Masks can be armor. Taking it off has nothing to do with protection.

 

[matriarch]

I got rid of my masks the moment I stood up in front of the world and said out loud to anyone who would listen how much I loved my wife, and declared openly who and what I was, and how I was going to live my life from now on.

Honestly. Openly. With her.

It's the most amazingly releasing feeling. I wish I'd had the courage to do it earlier.

 

[scheherazade_79]

I used to exist behind a mask that had been imposed on me by other people. It was sensible, measured in its response, highly respectable... and absolutely stifling, not to mention stressful.

As I got older the mask started to crack, and I discovered life was a lot more fun when it did crack. Then about a year and a half ago it fell off altogether.

Don't get me wrong - I still have a mask, but it's more of a defence mechanism than a concealment of personality. Sometimes it's easier to piss about and make a joke and entertainment out of things than admit that I feel absolutely crushed by them.

What physical mask would represent me? I dunnow.... Physical masks frighten me. I have a hard enough time reading people as it is, without all their expressions being hidden by a mask. I find clowns creepy for the same reason.

 

[Nirvanadragones]

http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e275/Nirvanadragoness/150_Colombina_Baroque_Gold.jpg​

 

[The_Fool]

Carnival

stately steps in sequins,
elaborate décor rather than clothing,
décolletage measured in feline grace.
flowing motion, earthbound angel.

cape him in black with an ebony mask
foreshadowing the darkness of his soul.
more the darkness of his mood,
depth of his despair, but optimistic.

color them the clowns.
loud and garrulous in color,
shouting out their hilarity,
as tears run yellow into red.

high above the crowds,
alone and lonely, she soars.
nude, but cloaked in grace,
shadowed by distance.

he needs no mask
other than his face.
casual smile touches his lips,
but never his eyes as he cracks his whip.

 

[impressive]

Carnival

stately steps in sequins,
elaborate décor rather than clothing,
décolletage measured in feline grace.
flowing motion, earthbound angel.

cape him in black with an ebony mask
foreshadowing the darkness of his soul.
more the darkness of his mood,
depth of his despair, but optimistic.

color them the clowns.
loud and garrulous in color,
shouting out their hilarity,
as tears run yellow into red.

high above the crowds,
alone and lonely, she soars.
nude, but cloaked in grace,
shadowed by distance.

he needs no mask
other than his face.
casual smile touches his lips,
but never his eyes as he cracks his whip.

Nice!

 

[impressive]

Deep thought: Are our inhibitions masks ... or what lies beneath them?

 

[TE999]

The ancient Greek masks of Comedy and Tragedy pretty much sum up life for me.

Wear one and keep the other handy.

"Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug". [Mark Knopfler]

 

[mismused]

delete