-Unhooked

[Words to Image. What does this image say to me? Well, let's just see.]

She stared at the same wall with the same five choices of character. The morning was fresh, but the options were not. Nothing was new. Nothing had changed, except for the day. Each one hung exactly where she had left it the day before. As was her pattern, she would wake, stand and look, sigh heavily, and then choose. She would pull slack in the elastic band and lower today's choice over her head. This is who she would be for the next twenty-four hours. This would be her outlook, how she saw herself, and how she would treat others. Each day that followed, repeated. This was Pei.

Pei spent each day as a captive to her choice. She longed for new mask, but the work was just too difficult. She could have easily taken one down and replaced it with a fresh new one, one of happiness or wonder or pride or empathy. But the work was just too difficult. Besides, they were already there, and the released bands already fit her head in a way she was familiar with. They were her physical comfort despite the fact they brought forth such pain and torment for herself and those around her. But the five saved her from the pain the work would surely bring. It was easier this way, right?

While she wore each chosen mask, she utilized it to its fullest extent. She would glean for praise and fish for sympathy. The blind obliged her, recognizing the same mask they wore. The others distanced themselves from her, as to not be cornered by more lies, needful sympathy, or another ego stroke. They grew weary. Yet, the daily pattern continued. Day in, day out. Week in, week out, month in, year out. Always the same five faces of anger or dread. Pei was lonely but she refused to accept why. It stared her right in the eye, five times, every morning, but still ... she refused to see it.

Pei had many opportunities for change. The world offered her a gamut of replacements. Each one, fresh and wonderful. But there was a wall between her and the possibilities. One tiny wall with five hooks. One tiny wall she chose to face daily and settle with.

Pei has no real identity. She is lonely and faceless. But this is what she chooses to be.

[When you choose the face you want to wear in life, choose wisely. Don't be faceless.]