Mask and Mirrors

The older I get the more I'm convinced of how little I actually know. My faith in people is constantly challenged. I don't want to become cynical and suspicious of every person that enters my life but I often wonder if much of what I see in others is merely a mask or veneer. Are there any genuine people left? Do people just get to know you for no other reason than to learn about you or is there always another more nefarious motive?


The mask in the picture is a Venetian mask used in outdoor theater productions which are still all the rage in Venice, Italy. The Venetian theater masks are commonly worn to show moods ranging from sadness to anger to lust. It is commonly understood that when an actor is wearing one of these masks that there is actually another emotion underneath the mask. The mask itself symbolizes a lie to the audience.

Lately I've been wondering if I'm not running out of people to look up to. It seems that everything I think there's someone out there who has it together better than I do, I find out it's all a mask. A pretty veneer that hides an unseemly truth. Then I have the most frightening of all thoughts....What if I'm as good as it gets??? What if there really isn't someone out there who has it together better than I do? That's a terrifying thought to me. It makes me feel like I'm the person that they always show in movies going into the scary situation first, with everyone else standing behind me waiting to see if I get knocked off.

Why can't we all be who we are, complete with warts, cellulite, and whatever else? Why the game? Why the drama? I really don't understand.