Unmask Yourself

Unmask yourself

How easy do you find it to unmask yourself?
To show the world who you really are?

I don't just mean the physical you, though that's important; I mean the emotional you. 

How often do you peel back the mask you wear to protect yourself from your own judgement and condemnation?

How often do you look beneath and find the different parts that make up you?

The small child that hurts and plays and laughs and cries and sings and questions and trusts.

The teenager who rails and sulks at the slightest slight, jumps to conclusions too quickly, laughs with free abandon with friends and rolls eyes at authority figures.

The young adult who wants to change the world, struggles with money and rubbish bosses, has dreams and ambitions but not yet the ability.

The parent who is terrified every minute of every day because this is the job no one ever prepares you for, who reads all the advice and gets note confused than ever, who asks friends and hopefully find solace in shared bafflement, who sleeps too little and works too hard and misses the Instagram moments but who's heart is full.

I don't yet know what the other parts of me will be but I'm sure they'll be rollercoasters just the same.  They'll challenge my sense of self in good and bad ways. 

I try not to wear the mask too often.
I try to let my feelings show to myself as much as to others.
I try to unmask myself because I've learned that I am happier, more connected to those I love and more able to experience life in all its fullness when I let the mask fall away.

How about you?