I know about demons.
At least a little.
At times they have haunted my life.
Telling me I am not good enough.
I am not strong enough.
That my best efforts are like dry leaves.
Stale. Crumbled. Easily blown away by the slightest breeze.
I wish they only haunted my life one day a year.
If that were the case I could be ready.
I could steel myself against their arrival.
Prepare my best defenses.
But no.
They arrive unannounced.
When I am least ready and most vulnerable.
I know about demons.
At least a little.
Halloween
My wife works as the Children’s Librarian at our local library.
She dresses up for Halloween. This year she dressed up as a pirate.
When I left the house this morning (with no costume!) I jokingly said this Halloween I was going to dress up as myself. Sometimes those off the cuff comments are the most revealing. What would I look like/feel like/act like if I was able to take off all the masks I wear and the layers of expectations and perceptions which I put on and which others put on me?
That is a hard question.
I have worn this costume for a long time.
Sometimes I remember it is just a costume.
Other times the costume is me.
Unraveling one from the other is hard work.
Pretending
Today is Halloween.
Later today ghosts and goblins, superheroes and characters out of a favorite book or movie will show up on our front porch or be a part of our community Halloween parade. What fun!
But, getting ready for today has made me think about pretending.
What if beyond the costumes we will wear today we woke up tomorrow and pretended to be…
Braver than what we usually are.
Kinder than what others would expect.
Less judgmental than what we usually feel.
What if we pretended to be more like that for just one day?
