The Masquerade



“She had blue skin and so did he
He kept it hid and so did she
They searched for blue their whole lives through
Then passed right by and never knew.”


Shel Silverstein

This is one of my favorite poems by Shel Silverstein because it speaks volumes to the masquerade where so many of us find ourselves. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, one definition of masquerade is “an action or appearance that is mere disguise or show.” It is easy to hide hurt behind a smile and physical appearance behind social media. Instead of allowing people to see who we really are, we wear a mask of idealism.

“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.”Proverbs 31:30

Humans have an innate desire to be “normal” that causes them to go to great lengths to hide their natural self. Make-up, Botox, photoshopping, and posting the high points of our lives on social media are just some ways that we engage in the never ending masquerade. The truth is, there is no such thing as normal. Christopher Barzak said it best, “Normal is a setting on a washing machine.” Do you really want to bury your true self so much that you are equated with a machine?

Why are you disguising yourself in a façade of what society deems as normalcy? Normal is boring. Let your weird out and see how that feels. I bet you will find that people will love the real you so much more than you could have imagined. It would be a tragedy to hide your “blue” while all along you were the exact person someone was looking to meet; someone like themselves.

What would happen if you make a commitment to be YOU completely and unconditionally? What if you are the first person to be brave enough to show the world the real you? You may find that there are other people who are exactly like you who have been searching for someone who is like them. Maybe they are waiting until they find the real you so they can muster up the courage to be the real “them” too.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him…” – Genesis 1:21

Forget the lies that the media places on society. Resist the urge to suppress your uniqueness. Be the beautifully, wonderfully, made you that God created you to be. Remember that you are the likeness of His image and when you take off the mask that you hide behind and you show people who you really are, then they have an opportunity to see God’s craftsmanship that brings glory to Him.

So, be weird, be bold, be beautifully you!

1 thought on “The Masquerade”

  1. Love this. Thank you for sharing. Reminds me of something a mentor once said- you alone express this facet of God’s heart and personality-no one else can do that. I love how all of us together make up a powerful, fun and beautiful display of God’s intent and beauty. You, Katelyn, are pretty amazing!

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