Let’s be honest: don’t you sometimes find yourself staring at you avatar , wondering who the hell that virtual person is?It’s supposed to be you… but… Is it… really?
It is said that the biggest load we carry in our lives is our personality. Our personality is the result of our basic self, after being molded as we interact with the people and circumstances we have to deal with in life.
It takes a lot of strength to be “that person” the others have come to know and take for granted.
It is OK.
That’s the way the world goes around.
But that social personality is there at the expense of other possibilities that remain hidden behind our face, the face that stares back at us from the mirror every morning, that glances back at us from the store windows as we walk by.
And sometimes we are tired of that face, of answering to the same name, of being so predictable.
So, since the beginning of times, other masks were made, probably in the hope of beco
ming someone else.But, if you think about it carefully, it becomes quite clear that the fake mask, by concealing, actually reveals.
We choose a mask that represents someone else we also are, deep inside.
Someone else that needs a face, because our flesh and blood face has already an owner.
The person that looks like we do everyday.
The person that answers to our name.
Masks, of couse, are related to myths. And myths are the richest source for tales.
Our real face is the mask we are wearing to portray our authorized personality.
When we choose to wear a mask, we are giving permission to a hidden part of the personality we project in public, to show up.
Maybe a darker side, maybe a brighter side, but most probably a truthful side. A side that has not yet been tamed.
In our society we don’t wear masks, unless we have to attend a costume party.
Or outlaws that obviously need to hide their faces. (It’s quite obvious here that the mask is showing who they really are).
But our personality is a load we carry. It takes it’s toll.
It keeps our mind sound, but it’s a bit like a straitjacket.
So, when we dream about being some one else… we dream about freedom. A freedom we long for, even if, given the choice, we would stick to being who we “officially” are.
Think about the myths and tales that were built around a mask. Off the top of my head… Zorro, the Lone Ranger, Batman, Spiderman, The Phantom of the Opera, The Man in the Iron Mask, Darth Vader, Gatubela, Superman.
Remember: masks are both, concealing and revealing.
In all the cases mentioned above… when the character wears the mask… his real self shows up, often displaying a very different personality, and a different name.
So the personality that lives a “normal” life, is really used to mislead people about who they really are.
Looking “normal” is the real disguise. The masked outfits unleash and reveal a deeper nature that otherwise remains hidden.
So, besides Halloween and costume parties… what other chance do we have to hide behind a mask , conceal our real life personality and reveal who we really are?
I am thinking about Second Life.
Aren’t you?
And I’m not talking about becoming “somebody else”.
I already wrote about that, explaining why I don’t think that’s possible: those myth based characters I mentioned, are not schizophrenic. They are just very complex beings… that have understood that sometimes the personality that relates to our identity is a heavy burden.
It has promised to help us feel safe, and to keep our act together… but it’s also a jailor that won’t let us out of the cage, if it thinks we are planning to stop flying in circles and instead, fly away.
So take a little time and take a good look at the character you have created in SL. Or all of them: the main character… and the alts.
This “game” is much less innocent than it seems.
Those characters are concealing who you are supposed to be in RL. But they are really revealing you who you also really are, who you really want to be, the way you really feel about your inner self.
Watch yourself in the mask you’ve made from scratch from the default avatar. What does it tell you?
And… most important… Are you listening?
Covadonga Writer
