Tags
blogging101, Creative Writing, Faith and Writing, Journaling, Lent 2016, Quotes, Reflections, Writing 101, Writing Prompts
Lent Photo-A-Day (February 10 – March 27, 2016)
`
Day 40 — Entrance
This being Palm Sunday I’m very aware that this word should remind me of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of Passion Week. That is NOT the picture that came to mind, however. This is:
I had started this post before we went to church this morning, but after tossing my impressions of the word ENTRANCE out to our Sunday School class, I came home and scrapped what I’d written. It was interesting listening to their feedback, and though I felt what I had written reflected what I thought, it wasn’t quite “it.” Actually it’s STILL not “it,” and I can’t figure out why…
In the first post I was saying that we all have our masks we wear. We have employee or boss masks, parent masks, spouse masks, friend masks, and on and on and on ad nauseam. And sometimes I feel like when I come face-to-face with a person, out comes the mask that feels the most appropriate or (as the class pointed out) the safest and I quickly slap it in place along with the proper attitude.
I doubt in this life I will ever truly learn to live without masks. And trying to do so might not even be healthy. But I can strive to live as authentic a life as I can. And part of that is to be AWARE of just what mask I AM putting on when I make my entrance wherever I go. Is it the side of me I really want to present? That’s where I got hung up…
When I make my entrance at church, for example, do I put on my mask that says I’m super Christian and had a perfect week with my perfect family and my perfect cats, and “how are you, Mrs. Sweeney?” What on earth do I think Mrs. Sweeney is going to say after seeing my mask? “Oh, I’m just fine, dear. Never better!” Then she’ll quickly scurry off to find someone she REALLY knows to tell them her husband had another mini-stroke this week, or she cried for hours yesterday because it was the anniversary of his death, or she just plain feels like crap!
I guess what I’m saying is, I need to stop at the stage door before I make my ENTRANCE and make sure my attitude and manner is an open and inviting one. If I can do that, my mask will be appropriate, and when I ask Mrs. Sweeney how her week was she’ll more than likely feel like I really want to know.
Is this something I need to practice just at church? Oh heck no! Learning to live an authentic and genuine life is a work in progress for me. The key, I suspect, doesn’t really have as much to do with my masks as I thought. The key is making sure that no matter where I go, I go open-handedly with plenty of love and grace to offer to those I meet. Maybe that way my ENTRANCE into someone’s life will be more than just “putting on an act.” And maybe, just maybe, they’ll invite me through the “stage door” into their life.
`
So many people ENTER your life,
but only few can ENTER your heart,
and stay there.
`
Rajendra Kumar
`
Picture Credit: www.nyhabitat.com
Impromptu Promptlings 
This is a perfect metaphor for how we live. And most of us who just watch people on the big and little screen don’t think we’re actors, ourselves. Well, how wrong we all would be then. Of course we’re different in every situation. Life is a stage, and we all play a part, and sometimes many parts. I believe that part of why we are the way we are is conditioning. We were taught to put on our best face when company was coming. Sure, with work, we can change that. And, as we grow older, we often feel less compelled to pretend everything is hunky dory. We tell it like it is.
Well done!
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s so true what you said about our being more open to saying our truth as we get older. I guess we figure, what the heck! What have I got to lose now? I sometimes think that’s why younger people at church are hesitant to get involved with the seniors. Not because they don’t want to listen, but because they don’t know how to help and THAT leaves THEM feeling ineffectual and bad. Does that make sense?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it does make sense. Young people have not had the experience of aging. It really is a whole different kettle of fish. Once again, school leaves a lot to desire (whether secular schooling or sunday schooling. People should be taught how to work with other who are a world apart from them. I don’t know what Sunday school. It’s not been my experience, but wouldn’t it be a good idea to have part of it be something like the big brother/sister program, where the young one hangs out with the older one, and they learn about each other, and from each other.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Actually we do that with the elementary-aged kids a few times a year. But the 20, 30, 40 somethings are so busy raising their families they have no interest in that. I know from personal experience that being a few years older can make a different in how one sees things. My sister and I didn’t do a bang-up job of caring for mom after dad died. My interactions with my ladies I visit now are SO different from that. If I had known then what I know now. But without extended family here to observe, Cindy and I had no clue how best to care for mom. So you’re right. Congregations should model that behavior. It’s kind of like teaching kids sex education, though. You HOPE they get it at home, but you try to pick up the slack anyway?
LikeLiked by 1 person
The quote is spot on I have only so very few . Do you go to Church every week, you are very good aren’t you – I mean that sincerely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LOL! Oh Anna! Good is certainly NOT an adjective I’d use to describe me! OML! Drollery would be rollin’ on the groud LHBO!!! You SO have never seen me pitch a fit! I’ll see if I can arrange one for you when we meet you in London! 😀 And yes, we do go every week. I love the people there. We all struggle with the same wanting to hide behind our masks, but there IS a genuine sense in this congregation of wanting to know how everyone is. That’s why we’ve stayed, even though we’ve never officially joined the church. Though we were members at our old church while we were raising the kids, now that it’s closed, I will never join another church. If I learned one thing from that painful experience of parting, it’s that my allegiance is to Jesus, not a religion or a denomination or a building…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hmm, as I was reading this I found myself getting irritated with the word ‘mask’. It somehow grated. And then I read your last paragraph 🙂 i guess what I’m saying here is that for me it’s not about hiding behind masks as much as we occupy a different aspect of ourselves in any given circumstance and the people we meet with. I think Edward de Bono’s description of donning different hats or indeed, wearing different shoes depending on the terrain we traverse, feels more authentic. It is not wrong or inappropriate to always be the same regardless of circumstance of person. Sometimes I also have a need to protect myself, or withdraw, if I feel uncomfortable, unsafe, or threatened. That too is being authentic. A very thought provoking post, thanks Calen 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are right, of course, Raili. And wearing different hats is the example I usually use in my posts. It just didn’t seem to fit with the whole “stage door” theme, and I know the psychologist I saw after my mom died referred to them as masks. I think you actually put your finger on part of the reason the post didn’t sit well with me. It didn’t seem right to me either. I would have to think about the different aspects of the personality thing in all regards, though. While I believe that is very true, sometimes I think the need for self-preservation overcomes who we really are.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It can do, I agree. That’s when it becomes a mask. If we feel threatened for whatever reasons I guess we go into protection mode, which means reverting to a safety switch.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It depends on who you’re teaching and the content. I could be myself when I was teaching five, six and seven year olds, but as I moved into adult education I felt I had to put on a mask. Not that I was the crazy person I can be with the littlies, but I could play a little more. Nor did completely I hide my mad self from the adults I taught. There was a time and a situation for dropping the teacher’s mask, but it had to be done carefully. I didn’t realise that many of the the adult students uncritically took on board much of what I said (just like many of the littlies). This was a bit of a shock because I never believed everything my teachers told me. Hmm. I probably had a problem with authority. I probably still do! Ha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can relate to that. I used to teach kindergarten. Boy! You were from one end of the spectrum to the other. Quite an adventure for you!
LikeLike
Although I’ve never met you, Calensariel, I cannot imagine you ‘putting on an act’. I understand what you’re saying, though. I felt as if I walked on to a stage everytime I entered a classroom. A lot of teaching is ‘performance’, often without a lot of rehearsal and with a sometimes obstreperous audience.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well thanks, Janet. But I have my moments of hiding and just wanting to keep the peace instead of being honest — in a healthy way — about my feelings. (I hate confrontation.) I guess that’s acting. Been trying this past year to learn to speak my truth more. So these prompts have been a real challenge because my faith probably isn’t perceived as strictly traditional by some people. Even me! But it’s sure been an adventure. 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
And since you mentioned it, that idea of performing was kind of at the heart of the post I trashed. As a believer I value the idea of being real and honest. In teaching sometimes that’s a luxury you don’t have, I’d imagine.
LikeLike