The Mask

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I never intended this blog to take on the form of a memoir. I also never wanted to come off as someone who thinks he has the answers. God knows I have made some big mistakes in my life personally, professionally and financially. That makes me human and my journey to rediscover myself and redefine my future is not unique to men of my generation. Personally, I don’t think there is a more important quest for men like me, and sharing my thoughts, discoveries and tribulations may have value to readers as we journey, both together and alone.

Mary Karr quotes George Orwell in her book The Art Of The Memoir; “Men wear a mask and then grow a face to wear it.” How many of us have spent our lives wearing a mask that communicates to the world what they want to see and hear? Our intentions weren’t wrong or deceiving by design, in fact in many cases they were honorable. After all, our purpose was to be successful, a good provider and parent. But in the process of wearing a mask that others provided us, maybe we lost touch with who we really are as individuals, with unique passions and visions.

Mary Karr talks about the importance of the inner struggle in telling our stories. As Karr explains, “divulging our inner struggles is part of the process of finding our voices, which makes us genuine to others and ourselves.” So, is this blog a journey of self-discovery? Yes it is. Is this a spiritual journey? Maybe, time will tell. As stated by Karr, “false choices based on who we wish we were will result in places where our voices go awry or the details chosen ring false. No matter how much we’re gunning for the truth, the human ego is also a stealthy, low-crawling bastard, and for pretty much everybody, getting used to who we are is a lifelong spiritual struggle. The best we can hope for is to rip off each mask as we find it blotting out your vision.”

One thing is for sure, this blog is a quest to find my voice and purpose and to quiet that internal struggle created by the mask I’ve worn for too many years. By quieting the noise from “others” that want me to be something different, I will freely share my thoughts, opinions, inspirations, and visions as acts of complete defiance and personal salvation. It’s really not that scary anymore because the people who love me and care about me will understand this vision quest. Godspeed to my fellow Boomers.

#Mask