Every where we go

People are wearing masks

Of all shapes

Of all sizes

For their

For our

"protection"

We're told.

Yet, we have all been masked

Long before last year

Ever since children

When we were told

Or we realized

We "needed" a mask

To interact with this world

If we were to survive.

Some chose the mask of

The girl girl

The good boy

The good student

The good partner

The good mom

The good dad

The good teacher

The good citizen

The good sheep

And "they"

Others

Told us what good

Needed to look like.

Words like

Selfless

Kind and generous

Virtuous

Righteous

Philanthropist

Thrown around

For praise and validation.

Superiority.

Yet some daredevils

Took the opposite mask

(According to others)

To assert their choices

Their freedom

Their independence

Yet polarizing to the other side

The bad girl

The bad boy

The bad kid

The bad man

The bad woman

The bad mother

The bad father

The bad citizen.

And other words like

Selfish

Arrogant

Unthoughtful or uncaring

Uneducated

Thrown around

To shame these people

Attempting

to get them and others

To conform

Into submission.

Obedience

To God, King or Country

Teacher or parents

Manipulation

Of each Sovereign Beings

Inner wisdom.

An inner and outer

Polarization.

When behind

these masks

Human beings

Are diverse

Complex

Light and dark

Shadows and shades

Of all variety

Of feelings

Of needs

Of desires

Of dreams

Of beliefs

Of ideas.

And most of these

Have even been given

From the outside

From some kind of "authority"

Or some kind of message

Some kind of screen

Attempting to program

A vulnerable mind

That only if we

Do certain things

Buy certain things

Get certain things

Will we ever be loved

Ever be wanted

Ever be happy

Ever be successful

Ever satisfied

Ever be safe.

Yet all this time

It was a lie.

The mask

The narrative

The story

The choice.

We were told we had to choose

Between "good" and "bad"

Between parts of us

Therefore having to sacrifice

Very real other parts of us.

Our fullness

Our aliveness

Our richness

Our complexity.

These have all been masks

Everyone has masks

Sometimes many masks

Choices made

By an unconscious mind.

But, what will you chose now?

As you realize this sacrifice you made

Years ago

To give up your freedom?

To give up your vastness?

To conform

Or fight conformity?

Are you so black and white?

Or many colors of the rainbow?

More diverse

More complex

That you ever imagined

And more free

Than you even knew.

Are you daring enough to reclaim

The you

Behind the many masks

And choose to live

To really live

As scary

As terrifying

As it may at first seem?

To be you

To be real

To be free

To be love

Do you remember?

Who you are!

~ Aloha Jacqueline

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Photo from Unsplash by Danny Green