Masks

Sabi nga nila, ‘Everyone wears a mask’ daw.

Minsan talaga napapatanong ako sa sarili ko kung ilang maskara nga ba sinusuot ko sa pang araw araw? or technically, ilang maskara nga ba meron ako? Paano or kailan ko ba isinusuot ito?

Madalang?

Madalas?

or naging natural na sya at unconsciously, automatic na syang naisusuot depende sa situation?

Minsan napapaisip din ako kung eto ba'y kaplastikan?

Pagkukunwari?

Pandaraya?

is it a kind of betrayal sa ibang tao lalong lalo na sa sarili ko?

Masama nga bang magsuot ng maskara or this is just how humans navigate through life?

Pero syempre, logically speaking, we can't generalize things. Sometimes we need to know the reasons behind things.

Minsan, kailangan nating laliman ang pang unawa para maintindihan nating yung mga reasons behind kung bakit nga ba tayo nagsusuot ng maskara

Eto ang point ko jan, what if bawat isang mask na isinusuot natin ay may sariling kwento? Paano kung bawat mukha ay merong unique narrative, something deeply personal na itinatago?

Isipin mo, what if yung maskara na isinusuot mo daily is actually more than just a facade? What if eto pala ay salamin na nagpapakita ng reflection ng current state of mind mo at ipinapakita sayo ay mga katotohanang ayaw mo tanggapin? (or hindi mo pa kayang tanggapin kasi di ka pa handa?)

Paano kung yung maskara pala yung totoo at yung sarili mong mukha pala yung kasinungalingan?

Perhaps the real question isn’t whether it’s wrong to wear a mask.

The real question is: when will we be brave enough to take it off? To face the rawness beneath, and to accept the person standing in front of that mirror?

Because sometimes, the hardest battle isn’t the one we face with the world; it’s the one we fight with ourselves—choosing to be whole, and real, and be vulnerable.

Maybe we all wear masks, but maybe, true liberation lies in realizing that beneath them, we’re all just searching for the same thing: to be seen for who we truly are, to find a space where we no longer have to hide.

And maybe,

just maybe,

the moment we take off our masks is the moment we finally allow ourselves to be free.

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