The Great Pretender

I remember playing dress up as a child. It was always fun to pretend being someone that I wasn't. I could be whoever I wanted to be. I could be rich or poor, a movie star, a world traveller. Unfortunately, the time would come when playtime would come to an end. I would have to take off the disguise and get back to being me.

Life is like playing dress up. In an effort to not exposing how we truly feel, there's a tendency to hide behind masks. We don't want others to know that we aren't perfect, that we may have a few flaws. Our worlds may be crumbling down around us yet we are more concerned with what people will think. We hide the fact that we may be going through turmoil, that our life may be chaotic. It's more important that we portray confidence and that we have it all together.

Who are we kidding? Why do we hide who we really are? Fear of not being accepted is one reason. Being judged is another. We learned to pretend at an early age, to keep our "guard" up. We are careful in deciding who is allowed to get close to us. We tell ourselves that pretending is easier than being vulnerable.

Pretending provides us with a false coat of armor that we think will protect us. We could be dealing with a stressful situation, however, if someone asks how we are doing we respond with a robotic "fine" instead of sharing our burden. We don't trust that anyone could be going through a similar situation and that this person may be able to help with our situation.  

For some, pretending becomes the reality. We've played dress up for so long that we are surprised when our masks begin to unravel and people see us for who we truly are. We come face to face with the reality that we have been kidding ourselves.

When we reach that point, we have to come clean with ourselves. No matter what past hurts, wounds, rejections and or fears we live with day to day we have to be honest with ourselves. We have to learn to trust that our friends, family, peers, etc., will like us for who we really are. We are just like they are. When we let our guard down and allow others to see us as we are, there is a sense of acceptance. There's knowledge that flawed or not we're okay. We can help each other mend.

So, stop pretending to be someone that you're not. There's no payoff in pretending. Although playing dress up can be fun, being your self is the only way to move forward with being authentic. Being authentic enables you to clearly see what is causing any misery, thus being able to deal with the issue(s) and find a resolution.  

It's time to stop playing dress up. Do you want to live the life of the great pretender or do you want to get rid of your masks and live a truthful life?