Who’s Behind the Mask?

With Halloween right around the corner, I went to my local Party City store and was amazed to see the assortment of elaborate costumes and feathered accessories littering the shelves. But, what surprised me even more was the abundant selection of masks. Some were gruesome and scary while others were ornate and very beautiful. I imagined myself hiding behind different ones. I realized people’s reactions to me would vary greatly depending on which mask I chose. I could frighten or impress – make people want to know me or make people run away. The power of a mask was simply remarkable.

So, is that the allure of Halloween? We can hide behind any mask we want? Yesterday, my daughter explained why she loved Halloween so much. (And surprisingly, it wasn’t just for the candy.) She said, “I love Halloween because you get to dress up and pretend to be anyone you want to be. I mean, isn’t that the whole point? To act and look like whoever you want?” Her statement made me stop and think. That is so often what we desire. To act and look like whoever we want without judgment.

Perhaps that’s the appeal. We get to spend this day being whoever we are without criticism or ridicule. It’s like a free pass for us. But, Halloween only lasts for a day. And yet, most of us leave our masks on long after Halloween night.

Many of us wear masks throughout our lives. We hide behind them, rather than showing people exactly who we are. And often we have more than one mask. We take them on and off multiple times each day. So, what are we so afraid of? We don’t want to show people who we really are. We have a persona that we want to protect. Have you ever been arguing in the car with a family member and then right before walking into church, put a smile on your face and acted as though you didn’t have a care in the world? You put on the “everything’s fine” mask. Or, perhaps when you were younger, you believed you weren’t as smart as everyone else so you studied up on facts and tried to know a lot of information about things. You put on the “know it all” mask. Or, maybe you’re someone who always likes to make people laugh. You are rarely ever serious about anything. You put on “the clown” mask. These are all personas that we want people to believe about us. So, we wear our masks to hide our real selves from the world. But, these masks present us in a way that is much different than who we really are.

So, this Halloween as you dress up like a vampire or prisoner, enjoy the anonymity and freedom that disguise can provide. But, when the sun comes up tomorrow and you’re back in your day-to-day life, remember that masks do not resemble the real you. They bind you into being what you think others want you to be. They trick you into being someone you’re not. So, on this Halloween go ahead and disguise yourself, but then be bold enough to finally take off your mask so the world can see who you truly are. It might be a real treat!