Masking Our Realities

The world is a stage, and we are all actors acting on it. This is a realization that just hit me. How we play different roles and wear different masks as we see fit.

I'm still reeling from what I recently found out about a friend -- so opposite of how I knew this person. So which is real? I'd still like to believe that this friend has been true to me and is truly as he presented himself to me. I'd still like to put my faith in him. I'm inclined to make excuses for him -- probably something just happened to make him out of sync with his true self, but who am I to know?

In the past, there have been times when people I really trusted turned out to be different from how I knew them. However, I'm quite stubborn and unless the wrong is done directly to me then I have no problem giving that person the benefit of the doubt. In this case especially, this friend has been nothing but good to me. Was he just wearing a mask as a defense mechanism of sorts? I know I have the tendency to act tougher than I really am as a way to cope with the things going on around me.

The human psyche has always intrigued me. So many times we hide our true selves -- for fear of not being accepted? For fear of being accepted only for what is good about us? Sometimes, we ourselves can't accept who we are or can't reconcile with our past. Unfortunately, these things keep us from moving forward or from trying new and good things.

I never liked pretenses, but I guess it is an unreality that has become part our reality. I have always appreciated honesty and being true to oneself, and I hope more people think the same way and have more faith in the people around them. Well, easier said than done, I know...