Masks
of Life
“One
could say, with a little exaggeration, that the persona is that which
in reality one is not, but which oneself as well as others think one
is.”
Carl Jung
A Jung After Work on
Monday night, Dr. Jutta Von Buholz presented Jung's concept of
Persona. She spoke about our having many persona, like masks, that we
shift around depending upon who we are with and what environment we
are in. For instance, a wife/husband persona, a mother/father
persona, a boss/worker persona, etc. It would not be appropriate, for
example, to take one's wife persona into the workplace, nor one's
grandfather persona into a cocktail party—so we have one for any
occasion. What is consistent about persona is that it is our desired
projection of who we are in that setting, or in with that person.
There are many truths about ourselves, about our personalities, that
we would prefer others do not know, so we tuck those away, and
instead, put on the appropriate mask for the occasion.
Now, persona is not
pathological as a rule. It includes the social norms that all of us
might like to breech at times but don't, and it includes appropriate
language for the occasion, and the proper social skills. The problem
happens when we have only one persona, and can't take it off when it
is appropriate to change to another. Sometimes we are so identifies
with one persona—let's say our professional one—that we don't
know how to let ourselves change roles. We have trouble relating to
people except in our professional capacity—not on a personal,
vulnerable, level playing field. You can see how this might interfere
with intimate relationships and true friendships.
Dr. Von Buholz showed a
video-clip from a play in which all the characters were wearing
masks. Their mouths were the only uncovered part of their faces. So,
we could hear their words, but could not see their eyes or read their
facial expressions. While it caused us to listen carefully for
nuances in their voices, it still made for stilted
performances—almost like watching puppets rather than humans. That
would also be the case with a “stuck persona,” one we could not
take off. It's is healthy to be able to remove whatever mask we wear
as our public face, and be truly “exposed” with people we trust.
Wearing ones public persona all the time creates feelings of
isolation and loneliness.
Today, make sure your
mask is removable. Let people see the real you.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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