Masks

The Japanese have this saying. We have one face we show the world, another for close friends and family and a third face we show no one. Personally I have always found this to be true. This is nicely rendered, a mellifluous syllabic harmony counterpointing the gravitas of the confessional.

I have heard that saying; with some mythology it seems that the masked deities sometimes seem the most human, but also the most mystical.

That is an interesting paradox you've struck upon there. It makes me think of how actors, or players as they called them back in the day, could be more free to be their true selves when behind a mask, freed not only from judgement by their anonymity, but also by the roles that others placed upon them. We each play various roles throughout a single day. For me: writer, mentor, son, caregiver, brother, uncle, friend, and each person sees us in that particular light. I guess the anonymity of the internet is our mask of freedom now, though we all know it is more widely known for falsehood than revelation of truth. 😅

Well I treat my mask and avatar as a way to indulge and connect with my super-ego: what I could be and would like to be. Personally I do not quite understand how some people have a problem with the concept that nothing is just one thing. Though that might be due to my Piscean influence: it is easy to see duality and accept muddy waters when every movement makes two waves!

With a mask it is somewhat easier to compartmentalise the self or soul: easier to strive to be only a few things and aspects because it is all inside a box that intercepts perception. The widespread falsehoods of modern internet just speak truth about the capable depravity of humanity: they reveal the lack of good by over-presenting the bad!

Well said. The mind is not a single voice, I've found, but a miasma of voices raised often in unison or one at a time. To compartmentalize is to bring singular awareness to a particular aspect. I could see fascinating writing with this in mind. The concept of freeing the super ego is very interesting, reminiscent of course of Freud but also Nietzsche. Along this vein, I suppose people who lie online are indulging the id