Masked Feelings

Masked Feelings by Tyran Schouten

Sometimes I feel like there is this unrealistic standard saying that I have to be happy. Why is happiness so expected? Why is it so desired? And why is it so needed that I am willing to fake it and put on a mask of happiness, so that the world around me is fooled into thinking that I am feeling something I am not?

I am sure you have felt this also, or some version of it. Maybe you wonder these same things. I believe this extraordinarily high bar is set because underneath it all everyone knowingly or unknowingly feels that we deserve to be happy; that one of our purposes in life is to be happy. Which means that whether we know it or not we are all in a pursuit of happiness. (Which is one of my favorite movies by the way). Some have found temporary happiness, some have found true happiness, and some haven't found either. For those who haven't, there is a pressure to put on that mask, so that if nothing else, pretend to be happy.

I venture to throw out there that no one should feel like they have to pretend to be happy! It's ok to sometimes not be happy, to be off, to feel a whole range and variety of human emotions that we are all capable of feeling. I also throw out there that if you feel unhappy or feel like you are always having to pretend to be happy, that there is a way to have more days of sunshine than days of cloud; that you deserve and have a purpose in your life to be REALLY TRULY HONEST TO GOODNESS DOWN RIGHT DOGGONE HAPPY!!! I speak from my own heart and experiences that this is one of the reasons we are alive and here.

So how do you fulfill this purpose of your life? One suggestion I feel to share is to take the mask off. Feel a sense of freedom of feeling the way you actually feel. Use that time of honesty to reflect on your life and it will give an opportunity for you to find personal and meaningful solutions to finding happiness. This will give you the clarity to change how you feel now to how you WANT to feel. It will allow you to become what you were wearing so that you can take that mask and throw it far away!

Oh, there will still be times when you get sad, even when you have found that happiness you are searching for. I have found happiness, pure joy, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but I still have days where I get feelin down and out. This is part of life. I can tell you, that far more of my days are filled with peace and joy, and that the more I learn and become a baby step at a time like Jesus Christ, still a long long way to go, the less days of sorrow are present in my life.

I promise you that He is where lasting happiness is and that no matter the day to day travails of life, my mask is off and underneath is not a face of sadness or anger but rather of peace, contentment and yes, happiness.

Sent from my iPad