Mask 2 Mask

Arjun Singh Rathore
Who are we trying to hide from when we’re hiding behind a mask?
The answer is probably different for each of us. I know for some the answer is pride. We want everyone to see how great we are, and by wearing a mask we can look even better.
Just look at how religious I am!
How spiritual;
How successful;
How perfect I am, we think to ourselves.
While for others of us, we wear masks for the complete opposite reason: we wear a mask to hide our insecurity, to cover up our past mistakes, because we feel so imperfect.
If my friends or my relatives or my colleagues or the people around saw me for who I really am…
If people only knew about my mistakes, my brokenness, my sin
There’s no way that they would like me;
There’s no way that they would accept me;
There’s no way that they would want me;
There’s no way that they would love me.
And so we wear a mask in an attempt to hide.
So that’s why we wear masks, but I also think it’s good to talk about whom we hide from.
The obvious answer is other people, friends, neighbours, relatives and colleagues.
But more often than not, the person we hide from the most is God. We hide from him because we’re ashamed, because we feel unlovable, like we’re not good enough for him.
Now here’s the hard truth, a mask might be something that we can hide behind, but it’s also something that we can die behind.
Most of us wear a mask, a persona that hides our deepest thoughts and feelings and presents a polished, controlled face to the world.
We constantly try to impress others and be fake. It’s exhausting, and it’s also a dark and lonely place to be, a place where Satan can mess with us.
On the outside your mask might say that you’re perfect, while inside it says you’re struggling with addiction;
On the outside might say that you’re happy while the inside says you’re broken;
On the outside you might look really tough, but on the inside you’re scared and live out of fear;
On the outside you might portray that you’re so religious and Godly, but the inside the truth is you haven’t felt God in a long time;
On the outside may be your mask says perfect Mom, while inside you secretly feel like you have no purpose;
On the outside, it might look like your house, marriage or career is so awesome, but on the inside you’re lonely, hurting and you feel completely lost.
Most people wear a mask to avoid being seen.
Doctor, Engineer, Journalist, Manager hide behind titles.
What does your mask say?
What are you trying to hide behind?
We all wear masks for different reasons; we all have different things we hide from others, from ourselves, from God, but today I want to challenge you to take your mask off.
Take it off and give it to your God who loves the real in you, not the person you’re pretending to be.
Take off your mask.
Hahaha………
It takes courage to be yourself.
How can you remove your mask?
Step One: Become aware of your mask;
Step Two: Recognise your own mask & expectations;
Step Three: Realise that the mask isn’t truly you;
Step Four: Commit to being you;
Step Five: Take action and say no.
But my dear you can’t take off your mask
You can’t and Don’t dare it.
What the condom was to HIV, the mask is to SARS-CoV-2 (the Corona, the Covid-19)
Indeed wear your mask khullam khulla in public
And do hit the Covidiot who refuses to wear it.
Cover your nose and mouth so that our generations could breathe normally & safely.
It’s upto you, life doesn’t stop here and it has to move but respect the virus and support the masking.
(The author is Executive Manager & Branch Head at JK Bank Marble Market, Jammu)