This mysterious holiday got me thinking. How well do you really know people? More importantly how real are YOU being in your world? Costumes (or lack thereof), masks, wigs, capes, tiaras, makeup, etc. It’s all fun and games when celebrating Halloween, but what about the other 364 days of the year? What’s your excuse for hiding, covering up, and/or being fake then?
Life is hard, and even more so the world can be cruel. So, all of us at one point or another (some for longer periods than others) tend to feel displaced. Therefore, you hide your real self in order to feel a sense of belonging in your world.
STOP. STOP. STOP.
Don’t hide who you are or even a part of who you are because you are scared of being disowned by your world. Being true to yourself is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, things about life. You have to find a way to fit in with society, your community, your “friends”, your family AND still find a way to go to sleep every night content with who you are. Jeez….it is stressful. Trust me, I know.
So, I write this post with a simple suggestion for you. Wake up tomorrow morning and everyday thereafter and consciously try to stay true to who you are. This can be standing up for what you believe in when no one has your back or just laughing at something that you find funny even when no one else laughs. Or admitting to your real feelings towards people, such as making the first move on a crush or stop engaging with someone who you actually can’t stand but whose attention makes you feel good. Or backing out of something you seriously detest but maybe it “looks good” and picking up something so odd and unusual and being ten times happier with life. I could go on.
It’s difficult to find the balance between fitting in and being you. Why not worry less on the fitting in and more on the being you? There is only ONE version of you. At one point or another, even if you try super, super hard to avoid it, you WILL find displacement in some part of your world. Embrace it. Love who you are. Seriously. Don’t worry, just own it. Why has being normal or common or usual become a good thing? Why are you striving to reach expectations of others rather than satisfying your very own?
Have fun tonight, but tomorrow? Wake up, take off your mask, avoid piling on the makeup (so to speak) and be exactly the person you are. Free yourself from the ghosts of worrying about what everyone else’s eyes see or what their minds think about you.
Spoil yourself in more treating and less tricking in this world.
S.K.
