Have you ever attended a masquerade? Bet you have. If you have not, in simple terms, you have to dress up in a costume and have a mask on. There’s an invite, a party, a dance usually, ladies and gentlemen obviously. Most important thing; do not forget your mask as that’s the main point. What is the main point of a masquerade actually?
In the renaissance, it was to provide an escape from the social ‘pretense’, blur classes kind of thing. The royals could interact with well…non-royals. They bred mystery and intrigue and offered a sense of freedom of expression of your ‘true self’. It was fun! The kind of costume and or mask you wore was up to you.
That’s what I thought when a masquerade was brought up. There’s another type of masquerade I was introduced to and want to bring to your attention: It’s not as fancy, but you do need a costume and a mask. These masks are different though: They are invisible. They’re meant to hide your ‘true self’, offer an opportunity to express a ‘false self’. I was invited to this masquerade.
Here, with the invisible mask, people appear to wear their true faces. There’s an invite, a party, men and women, a dance. You choose who you dance with, carefully. You don’t know who’s wearing the mask or what’s behind it. You just know that most people are. It’s not fun. One thing both masquerades have in common is that chatter improvises and goes fully freestyle. You better choose wisely who’s on your side.
Good thing you get to decide whether to mask up or not, plus, the type of mask is up to you. Anyway, make no mistake, you’ve been formally invited. See you there 😉