"Your True Self" by Elena Goodrow

As October closes, the community around us celebrates All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. The children don masks and costumes as they begin a quest for sweet treats and frightening tricks. You can feel the joyful buzz in the air as people share the costumes they have created. The mask that they use to dress up, going door to door throughout the night, represents they are no longer themself. They have become their character, celebrity, animal, etc. that they shall remain for the night. This ritual of having a mask isn't necessarily reserved for Halloween, although the mask might not be a physical object but a personal facade.

We have different identities around our family, close friends, and strangers. We put on our mask when we are unsure about a new person in our life, or even if we feel unsafe at home. At times we can even have on a mask when we are alone, some people may not know how to remove it.

Who are you without the mask? What brings life into your soul and nourishes your being?

Finding your true self can take years, but little by little we can learn how to uncover ourselves by chipping away at our masks. Challenges in life such as our health can make us feel separated from who we can, but we can begin by finding the small things that make us happy and present a feeling of being at home within ourselves. This November take off the mask, find your true self, and support those around you in their own journey of doing so.

Who are you dressed up as this season of your life, and how will you find yourself underneath it?