The masks we wear

I found out on the internet a small post that say like this:

The Japanese says you have three faces.
The first face, you show to the world. The second face, you show to your close friends, and your family.
The third face, you never show anyone. It is the truest reflection of who you are.

I’m not sure if it’s really a saying like this in the japanese culture, but the philosophy behind this post got me intrigued enough to write something about this.

If you think about it, it’s kinda true. We are showing a different face and attitude, based on the people we have around us. We have different levels of relationships with everyone around us, and because of this we talk different with them, we show a different side of us to them.

Some will say that this is wrong, and we give the classic line “ be yourself” when they hear about this. But when I get this question I ask: “What me do you want me to be?”

Me from the morning, or the one from the afternoon? Me from work, the writer me, the gamer me, the reader me? Which ones of “Me” do you want me to present to you?

We have different roles in our lives, and for these roles we wear each time a different mask. We just have to be careful to not mix up the roles. To be sure that we are wearing each time the appropriate mask for the role we are playing for. It would be really strange to show up at work, with the party mask on.

And yes, of course we will have a side that we don’t show anyone. It would be strange to be like an open book. Everyone has some inner thoughts that remain hidden, because that it’s the way it’s supposed to be. There are goals, or fears that sometimes shouldn’t be shared even with your closest friends, because sometimes they wouldn’t understand that.

Don’t be afraid to say that you have many faces. Because that is who we are.

And now I will take my writer mask off.

Be sure to follow me @sstefan, to find out when I will have my writer mask on next time.

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