Remove the Mask. More often than not, in speaking to people of recovery, I come across people who had difficulty identifying who they were, where they fit in and how they felt about it. When early childhood is characteristic of this it tends to move along into the early teen years and up through or more formidable later teen and early adulthood. The early teen years, because of puberty, can be like Mr. Toad’s wild ride for many of us. We come out of that phase even more confused as we try to sort out who we are. While doing that, we begin showing others who we think they want to see rather than who we are. This is the main reason we begin seeking medication or a behavioral distraction. Quoting Father Martin in Chalk Talk; “It is a natural human response to seek relief from that which is uncomfortable.” I’m not saying that this is right, I’m just saying this is often the case. It is not meant to indict anyone’s father or mother or anyone’s family for that matter. I find this common thread to be true regardless of the Socio economic or any other dynamic that would factor into how children are raised. One of the most profound things I’ve ever heard about addiction centers around the theory of “love disorder.“ Rather than go deeply into that I’ll go back to the title of the podcast and talk about the mask we wear and its purpose. The purpose of the mask is to conceal. It is not so much as to conceal who we are as it is how we feel about who we believe we are. When we consider the definition of the word mask we find it is “a cover or partial cover used for disguise.“ when we look at what a mask does that is when we look at the word conceal and conceal is defined as “to prevent disclosure or recognition of the truth.“ What removing the mask brings us
- Bask in the sunlight of our life
- Gain new and exciting insight into self and others
- Understand that recovery is an inside job
- Live the life we felt we missed
- Help others along the way
When these simple steps are applied, we begin to experience the freedom that had eluded us for so long. Remove the Mask
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Robert Pardon
Robert is the Recovery Guy. Getting clean and sober on April 25, 1986 has given me the insight and practical skill set to not only stay sober, but to also re-invent myself to the person I always wanted to become. Showing others how to do this is my life goal.
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