“I was ashamed of myself when I realized life was a costume party, and I attended with my real face.” Franz Kafka

This quote reminded me how often I have felt uncomfortable in my own life because of my appearance, my background, or even my opinions—in other words, because of my own “true face.” And I believe this problem is growing larger in our society over time. We are afraid to show ourselves to the world because of projected or already experienced pain, or we consciously present a different image—a mask—because we think reality (our true self) is not enough and not acceptable to others. And as our expectations of ourselves and of others continue to rise, both in terms of outward and inner qualities, behavior, careers, and so on, our true reality, our happiness, and our freedom will steadily diminish. In the end, the meaning is completely lost: we all want the same thing, because we are one, we come from the same place, and we go to the same place…

In this image, we can recognize several common “roles” of today, without claiming to be exhaustive. The masks behind which we hide in order to appear better or more important than others, or which we use as defense or deception. And sometimes simply to feel enough.

The judge — the one who constantly judges others and compulsively expresses their opinion.
The servant — the one who constantly tries to please everyone else.
The maiden — hypocrites.
The witch — a deceiver who presents herself as a good person.
The fool — those who hide their pain with humor.
The ancient statue — people focused on the body.
The princess — those who consider appearances important.

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“Dance of Roles”

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“Magical Childhood”

“Winter Romantic”