Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the craziest one of them all? Who is the bravest and who is the most honest? Who is the boldest and who is the funniest? Who is the smartest?
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the wisest of them all?
Who looks at his reflection and sees the face behind the mask?
Mirror, mirror, on the wall...
Why do I think it's important to know yourself...
We all have as many masks as the number of people we know. We wear them daily. Some of them we put on when we have lunch with our parents and some when we welcome our lover under the sheets. There are masks for our teachers and those for our students. Bussiness masks are carefully folded in our briefcases and funny masks are always in our pockets in case we ever run into a child handing us an imaginary telephone. No matter how old we get, we will always happily take that phone from the innocent hands that are offering it, put on a mask and say "Hello?"
Different situations call for different actions. It is normal and desirable that we have diversity in our approach. Some settings require us to be easy going and relaxed while some demand our austerity. It is ill-advised to act in the same manner attending a funeral as we would a birthday party. Those are social norms that we have excepted in order to function as a human society. We adapt and make compromises in order to make life easier, for us as well as the others. But, what happens if we forget to take the mask off?
It is easy to lose ourselves in the crowd, to become something and someone so unlike us. It is easy to forget to take the mask off. There is a fine line between adaption and total takeover of our personality, hopes, dreams and desires. We walk that thin line daily, some us more successfully than others. Do you know who you are? Not who people think you are, but who you actually are? Do you know what you like to do when nobody is watching? Is your soul free or is it stuck in the cage like a pretty bird condemned to sing only for her masters?
You will never know yourself completely and deeply enough to be satisfied, that is ok. You are constantly evolving. Change is a part of your nature and as such is nothing to be feared. Welcome it instead. Embrace it and savour it as it expands. You are that change. You are that growth. Masks are a useful tool to have in your bag of tricks but remember, you are not supposed to trick yourself. Never set for a cage, open your wings and sore the sky. If with no one else, be free with yourself.
Why do I think it's important to know yourself? It gives you freedom.
Freedom to BE yourself.
What did I learn about myself so far?
Introspection has been hard for me at times. I never liked mirrors. It is not easy to admit to yourself that you have flaws. But, you know what I've learned? I am perfect with all my imperfections, unique in my own little way.
I love life and I love living it. That is the only constant about me, everything else changes. When I was 16 years old I jumped from an aeroplane with a parachute. I wanted to skydive so bad that no one could stop me, I wanted to feel the sky and feel it I did. It was an amazing experience, something that I will cherish for life.
I love to learn and I love to travel, meet new people and explore different cultures. I like to try new stuff whether it's food, clothes or actions, and there is nothing that I enjoy more than being happy. I am a simple creature, one that will follow you around like a puppy dog if you give me dark chocolate, coffee or a good Istrian wine. I enjoy people and I do get turned on a little by a good conversation or a debate. Intelligence in others will always knock me off my feet, but so will an interesting book. I love to be amazed, amazed by everything, people, animals, Earth and the Universe.
I love to take all my masks off as often as I can and bask in all the love and happiness that is around me and I love myself for my ability to say NO. No is a word that was hard for me to learn how to say and when to say it. I am proud of my No-s now and happy that I can give them out so freely.
"You have to..." NO
"You must..." NO
"People expect you to..." NO
"You need to..." NO
I have become a little hedonistic being. I enjoy everything I do. If there is no fun or joy, I will not do it. I love sex, food, sleep, people, games, books, travels, music, oooooh the music, art and philosophy, dancing, walking, yoga, sleeping outdoors, meditating, good cigarette and a glass of good wine, dreaming, painting, writing, listening... And most of all...
Who do I nominate?
I was nominated for this "Know yourself" challenge by @dumar to whom I am grateful for giving me this opportunity to explore myself a bit today. This is a challenge organised by @tamacvet, and you can read all about it here: Art of knowing yourself challenge.
As for the nominations, I nominate:
@awakentolife
@ivan.atman
I am curious to read their posts about this :)
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