We wear the mask

In his poem "We Wear the Mask," the great Paul Laurence Dunbar writes:

"We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,—

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties."

I couldn't agree more. A few weeks ago, my classmates all shared personal stories, and for a moment, no one was wearing their mask. I'm not sure if this is a predominately western hemisphere problem, but people, myself included, wear their mask(s) so often that we never see who they really are underneath. I can't help but think how much better our relationships could be if we took our masks off and allowed ourselves to vulnerable and true to who we are. 

In a day where social media gives us the opportunity to paint whatever picture we want of our lives, it is easy to fool others. We want all of our "followers"  believing that the highlight reels that we choose to share wholly represent us. But do they? Let's, as people, practioners, classmates, as ourselves, take off our masks. Our faces are more beautiful anyway.