As a child, I loved dressing up as Alvin the Chipmunk for Halloween. Covering my face was a plastic mask with two bucked teeth and a red baseball cap tilted off to one side. I cried when the mask fell apart after so many years of use.
We wear masks at Halloween, the superheroes we enjoy watching at the movies wear them too. Yet the masks we are currently asked to wear, for self-preservation from a virus that’s sweeping the country, are the ones that many of us struggle with.
I’ve worn my share of masks over my lifetime. When I was a young adult, I didn’t even know I was wearing them. I put on one mask in the hopes that people would find me attractive, another to lure new friends, and yet another so I could land a job. But perhaps the mask I’ve struggled most with is the one called, perfection. Fortunately, I’ve learned a thing or two from my animal companions showing me how to surrender to my imperfections, and embrace who I truly am – my strengths as well as my quirks.
The Price of Authenticity
If you’ve read the news then you know that our animal companions can benefit our wellbeing during these chaotic times. They provide a needed boost to our whole heart health – emotional and physical; they get us to exercise even when we don’t want to; and they provide us with an endless stream of unconditional love. They are also unique models for living an authentic life.
A Chihuahua never strives to be a poodle and a tomcat doesn’t hope to become a Siamese. Animals are who they are, reminding us to live in the present moment, to shed the masks that no longer serve us, and to move through life in a more genuine way.
When I first wrote Dog my Doctor, Cat as My Nurse, I wondered if people would laugh at me. In the end it didn’t matter. That book was born from a place inside of my heart that had to be expressed, and either I could put my pen to paper and share it with the world or don another mask and hide behind that instead. I chose the former, and in surrendering to my vulnerability, I was liberated. Expressing my truth allowed me the freedom to become more confident in my own skin.
Currently, I’m in the throes of writing my most challenging book to date; a memoir entitled – Junkyard Dog: a rescue story. Writing a memoir forces you not only to reveal some of your deepest secrets, and to pull off the masks that you cling to which have protected you over the years but it also compels you to write with honesty, truth, and to leave fear behind.
The Masks Under the Mask
The cotton mask I wear when I go out into the world, not only serves as a preventative against the coronavirus, it is a great lesson on silence. It reminds me to take a look at the places in my life where I have kept quiet: politically, environmentally, and going forward, to speak up for animals who can’t speak for themselves. Wearing a mask to protect me and others that I come into contact with doesn’t rob me of my authentic nature, it doesn’t rob me of my freedom; it’s the masks that lay beneath our mask that erode who we truly are.
Stay Healthy & Stay Pawsitive!
Carlyn MDO 💜
PS: If you or someone that you love is looking for a great dose of daily inspiration and a way to stay more pawsitive through these challenging times, check out my multi-award winning book, Dog as My Doctor, Cat as My Nurse and Amazon bestseller, Paws for the Good Stuff. Let the joy begin!
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