Monday, October 31, 2005

Mask-burning Party

Best friends are as much a matter of determined self-revelation as they are favor and destiny. How can people know you unless you show yourself to them? Though there are some things we will instinctively know about each other, how sweet is it when one offers you freely what is on his heart and mind- to raise another up, not merely for the purpose of pushing her forward but in order to hold her face to face. Yes, how much more frightening than monsters or ghosts of the past, how intimate and terrifying in the deepest sense, and yet how rewarding. This is what it means to truly be alive. How often we simply eat in the presence of others, high towers prevailing to keep us apart, rather than to truly dine with our friends. Such barriers secure us only from the prospect of truly living. It costs a little pride to call out, "Wait for me, please, I'm just behind you!" But then we can all go together. To steadily lose a sense of self-preservation in the presence of friends, to care no longer for trying to appear a certain way in the eyes of others, is to be free to give and receive love for who you really are, no longer stooping to hold up a puppet in your place. The patience and persistance of one of my oldest and dearest friends is what enabled me to finally burn many of my masks, but even with the sincerest graces of others to fall back on, it is still a difficult choice. Self-revelation is not something one can force on anyone, nor would it be nearly as valuable if one could. There is perhaps far too much emphasis placed on the chemistry of friends and lovers than on the necessity for a continued mutual revelation between them.

1 Comments:

At 7:46 AM, November 08, 2005, Blogger Tass said...

Sir Piffle couldn't be a shade more right. :-)

I came over here from Peemil's place, that guy always puts a smile on my face. At any rate, you're a lovely woman and I dig the "kicked back in the Pacific Northwest enjoying a cool day outside by sipping chai by the fireplace" kind of vibe you have here. Keep it up.

Dana

 

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