Take off your mask, and live!

Those who created the world's first masks could hardly have imagined that, more than 9,000 years later, the concept of masks would become multifaceted, not only as symbols representing the soul to connect with the spiritual world, but also as a means of expressing a choice, a lifestyle, a disguise – a disguise of personality.

It has become so common that the word "mask," which should ideally be in quotation marks to indicate its figurative meaning, no longer needs them. A mask is not a mask, it is a mask – see, no quotation marks are needed, people still understand it as usual. How many masks have you worn in your life?

The Japanese have a thought-provoking philosophy: "Everyone carries three faces within them. The first you show to the world. The second you only wear when you are with close friends and family. And the last one you never show, that is the truest reflection of who you really are."

From ancient times to the present day, or rather, going back even further, since the moment humans first appeared in this universe, perhaps they have had many faces on one face, to ensure they are the person they want to be in the eyes of others. You are A in your parents' eyes, A' in your friends' eyes, A'' in your spouse's eyes, A''' in your colleagues' eyes… It's still A, but the essence of A is sometimes obscured, hidden by commas, so many commas forming an elaborate mask so you can quickly and flexibly change your words and actions to suit the person you're communicating with. Your core is A, but what you show the world is the kind of A you want to be; it's you, yet not you – a shell encasing your true self.

From birth, the separation of the individual self and the social self seems to be an ingrained genetic code, with no exception, not even those considered the most honest and straightforward. This is no secret; ancient linguists derived the word "person" from the Latin word "persona"—a theatrical mask. This means that humans wear masks, always wear masks, are inextricably linked to masks, and are even masks themselves. Humans are never truly satisfied with themselves; deep down, they understand that their nature is imperfect, far from the ideals they imagine and aspire to be. Therefore, they naturally wear invisible masks.

The only difference here is that a kind person will not lose their core humanity no matter how many masks they wear; while a deceitful person easily identifies with those masks, allowing them to devour their inner self. Wearing masks for too long causes the artificial outer layer to corrode the real skin underneath, turning falsehood into truth, truth into falsehood, and truth and falsehood so intertwined that even the wearer cannot distinguish their true self.

Human masks have become increasingly sophisticated and complex since the advent of the internet, specifically social media. Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram… have an incredible allure; algorithms that stimulate rapid interaction draw people into the virtual world, transforming them into one (or more) completely different versions of themselves. We become witty and intelligent on Facebook – a stark contrast to our quiet, reserved selves in real life; we are humorous, quick-witted, and knowledgeable about worldly matters – a stark contrast to our slow, sluggish selves in real life; we appear tall, with big eyes and fair skin – nothing like our short legs, single eyelids, and honey-colored skin.

The masks we wear on social media are incredibly diverse; today they might be one way, tomorrow they could be something else entirely. Everyone knows this, because others are just as delusional as we are. We look at them, praise them for fun, but how can we truly believe them? Yet, we keep competing to be more delusional. If we were to rank them, there would only be "more delusional," not "most delusional." Gradually, it turns out that these masks aren't used for showing off or impressing others, but primarily to satisfy the desire to express ourselves and deceive ourselves.

There's a simple question many people can't answer: What kind of person are you? Describing yourself is incredibly difficult, because you've been so used to wearing a mask and living a virtual life that you've forgotten who you truly were. You might be able to guess what you're like in the eyes of friends, family, colleagues, neighbors… but when you question yourself, you don't know, you don't know clearly. There's a hazy mist blurring the line between mask and reality, between disguised personality and true personality, between the authentic self and the social self, between the virtual world and real life… How can the mask remain a part of your true self instead of devouring it? You have to take off some of the masks and live!