DON'T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT YOUR MASK

This post initially started out as a response to Tasia's comment from my post : 'Men Don't Want Funny Women'. It is a long reply, so I thought I'll just make it into a post while going into another issue, too...

Iyaaa yah gurl I kinda think that in Indo, cewe lebih harus jaga diri.. ja-im rite? I mean not only cewe, but everyone I guess. We are less inclined to fully express ourselves, especially when it comes to displaying strong emotions, such as anger. In happy times, there are expected ways we may express them as well; otherwise, if we go overboard, we are labeled as 'norak'. We are expected to be unemotional, undemonstrative, cold. Or, we'll be ridiculed. So we constantly have to put on an imaginary mask to live and survive on a daily basis. Our best friend is our mask. Don't leave home without it. Just like your american express card. If we leave our mask behind, we are not accepted in the society. We may become an outcast. Not only that, we are unable to function without our mask because we have gotten so comfortable wearing it every day that we would not know how to operate without it. So, it's much easier to put on a mask than to face every day struggles. But, are we happy walking around with this mask on?

Happiness is not an immediate goal for everyone. I am sure that everyone inherently wants to be happy and content. What's more important to some people, rather than happiness itself, is acceptance and approval from our family and friends. And sometimes, being accepted and approved of by society brings one happiness, which means that their happiness is contingent upon other things and certain conditions in life. I believe that happiness comes from within. You can feel the energy of someone who is trully content at heart, versus those who only appears to be happy on the outside.

And those who have a mask on may not even realize that they have it on. It's a protective shield that will allow them to feel safe when facing the world. Most people do not deliberately choose to walk around with a mask. It's just automatic. It's something they've had on since the beginning of time that it's become part of their identity. For others who have adopted and realized they've gotten a mask, it is utilized to save their sanity while they are living on earth. We all need that sense of beloging and if having a mask increases our ability with identifying with our friends/families, then we can't help but let the mask be our best friend. One thing we are compromising, though, is our integrity. Integrity has to do with our morals and ethics, and how we handle the world shows a lot about our integrity. But I've seen people compromise their integrity and surviving day in day out. It's exhausting; however, it's the only way they know how to live their lives. I guess it has to do with survival of the fittest.

And if one is struggling every day just trying to survive, survival itself becomes a primary goal. Who has time to think about happiness? Happiness becomes secondary and who can blame them? Hopefully, if one cannot reach happiness within this lifetime, they will find it in their next life.