Donning Masks : An Essential Skill For Survival

What pops up in your head when you hear this very word ‘Mask’? Do you think of Halloween or masquerade ball or say any literature text or dualism? Do you think that people wear mask? Are you one of them?

Well, I have seen a lot of people who wear masks. Mask here is used in a metaphorical sense. Mask refers to the duality which surfaces humanbeings. We are a piece of society and to live in society , we are compelled to adhere by certain rules and regulations. We meet multiple people during the span of our life and different people, cultures, religion demand us to play varied roles. We can’t be same with every single person we meet on this planet . But this duality is imposed on us by our very own society. For example, with the change in demands we get to see shift in the prices, similarly human beings adapt to this dual nature according to the demand of the society. Every individual living on this Earth leads two fold lives or may be more than two. One face is that which we present in front of our society and the other face is which we hide inside us. No matter how hard we try, we all end up living double lives or may be multiple lives. Some are aware of this reality while some spend their lives in oblivion.

We wear different types of mask depending upon the bond we share with that person.Emotional mask, People wear this to hide their emotions. When they can’t show theiremotions to others they pretend to laugh or indulge themselves in other activities. For example, a fight occurred between a couple but in front of their guests they hide their emotions and pretend as if everything is okay.Identity mask, People are very concerned about their identity . They can’t take the risk of being judged by others. It is the biggest fear in every individual. People wear them to conceal their identity. for example, they do certain things which they don't have interest in.

Apart from these, people nowadayscan be seen indulging in themselves; they hardly pay any attention to their surroundings. Mobiles, computers all others electronic devices are like masks. We use them as a medium to escape from reality. We wear masks most of the time and no one can tell the hidden truth behind it. We are mask less in front of those who wins our trust, people we are comfortable with. We believe in them and don’t care about the rest of the things. We are fearless and we don’t feel conscious about our image. We get a call from our inner conscience to turn mask off.Wearing masks doesn’t portray negative role in fact it has become essential to wear mask. When one wears a mask that means we have set certain boundaries just like we have our personal and public space. While the mask is active, you can reflect upon the roles you want to play.

This reminds me of Shakespeare’s famous lines 'All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts '.

Wearing a mask is healthy and it is the need of the hour. Hence, for a harmonious expansion of human nature,balanced attitude of this mask is very crucial. We should know where we have to switch the mask on and where to switch the mask off. Imbalanced attitude may result in the imperfection and might take a turn from healthy to unhealthy growth. Never subdue your reality, your true self beneath that mask. This has become the important part of our life cycle in order to survive in the contemporary society. This is the symphony neither we want to live with that mask nor can we part ways with that mask. And this idea remains constant throughout our lives.