What you want others to see
If you know me, you may be surprised to find out that I have anxiety. I think I mask it quite well. And until rather recently, I didn’t even recognize that I was using it as a mask. I seem to come across as confident and self-assured, and in some subjects, I am. I was always good at sports and had good balance. In high school, I was shaken out of my geekdom by my math teacher and got on the track team. This changed my life in many ways, physically and mentally.
Later, working on trails in Glacier National Park added to my confidence in hiking, the outdoors and my construction skills. I always seemed to have a good mechanical sense and enjoyed learning how to fix things. When I had my first car, I learned how to fix as much as I could without a mechanic. After I got into computers, I put together several of my own from parts. I enjoy being a handyman in the home and creating shelving or other solutions, and doing projects to make home more useful and comfortable as well as repairs. All these various “doings” are great fun for me and I lose sense of time, but not the push to get things done.
Personal relationships are another story. I tend to be friendly, but standoffish. I like being outgoing, but tend to be monkish. And I self-sabotage whenever I seem to get ahead, so I just get by. And underneath all this is some fear of being seen, of standing out.
All this information about me is of course a short version of my story as we all are complex organisms. We carry our own traumas and beliefs, which create limitations of us in all aspects of living, and yet also propel us towards discovering and releasing these patterns. As we are able to reach these places of release, an opening occurs which allows greater joy and creativity in our lives.
The concept of masks may come as new information to some of you reading this. We learn various ways of being in this world, in society, in our groups – masks we put on. Masks through which we filter how others see us, and how we want to be seen.
If you are ready to be authentic, to discover the cost of creating and maintaining your masks, to learn more about your internal world and feel more free, then call for an appointment today.