This time sunday scribblings came with a "smorgasbord" of ideas and that is proving to be my nemesis. Try as i might, i'm just not able to decide on THE pompt, from the 101 (yes, 101). I'm equally worse at a buffet...
so my two cents on masks...and...morning
I love my morning tea. This is the only time i have when i sit looking out of my window at the clear skies, feeling the early morning nip and hearing the birds chirp. Sipping tea with the hubby in silence but yet so connected...I need those ten minutes of silence before I come back to earth and wear my masks for the day. Before I throw myself into the hustle bustle of routine.
Everyone wears some kind of mask. There are innumerable occasions where I have been forced to be someone else, either because society demands it or because there is no other way out. The only time perhaps I am just myself is when I am alone with that little core of people who form my family.
Writing my blog was something which gave me happiness and allowed me a way to explore thoughts and ideas, mostly through prose and on few occasions as poems. Here I thought I could be myself and speak my mind. And it worked too, for a long while. But now, I wish I had maintained my mask of anonymity, but being me, I have let the whole world know who I am...Slowly you become aware of other readers' sensibilities, of blog etiquette, of minding my p's and q's.
With blogs being a public display of thoughts, you cannot choose your readers. You write with the hope that they are read by like-minded people, which has happened in my case. i've met wonderful people this way and i'm not going to stop. But recently I came across a friend's poem on his blog where his comment space soon became a sparring ground, with one person criticizing the quality (not the content, but the quality) and the others defending the writer. Surprising, because it was a nice poem, but the reader felt it was below the standard. Whose standards was he talking about?
So I ask myself, do I have to wear a mask here too so that I can be myself...? or do i have to wear one so that I can be someone else?
Saturday, March 15, 2008
The mask
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20 comments:
Most of us wear masks. Even when we say, we don't!
The books I would write
hey nice post TA. Straight from the heart..loved it.
**Surprising, because it was a nice poem, but the reader felt it was below the standard. Whose standards was he talking about?
I hv faced ALOT of situations like that in my blog. My 2 cents on that is, THIS IS MY BLOG AND I WRITE BY MY STANDARDS. So they can stop cribbing.
U dun hv to wear a mask...it's really ur wish tho. I dun like wearing masks cos I'd feel very uncomfy ;-) I'd rather show my face.
TC HUGS!
Keshi.
the beauty of blogging is one can click... and make troublesome people disappear... i do not respond to comments in the open forum,, rarely if ever.. in so doing i have avoided any and all confrontation...
Reminds me of Christina Aguilera's Reflection. It's from Disney's Mulan (I am a Disney freak), and it's one of the songs I strongly identify with.
If I wear a mask
I can fool the world
But I cannot fool
My heart
To quote another song from the same movie, be true to your heart!
i would hope u don't wear a mask... would be a pity to hide such a pretty face and such beautiful thoughts! :0)
for me, the blog is one place where i am completely me. it's MY space, why shud i wear a mask? if it upsets someone, maybe they could hide behind masks? if they try to upset me... it's simple... ignorance is bliss! :D
if you are talking about masking the identity, I am not really sure as I blog anonymously myself,
But I do not think one should really mask what they have to say, even though criticism some times can end up as a personal attack, I still have never wanted to stop saying something just because people may not like it..
remember the post about a girl I saw in the auto long time back.. how much bashing my post got :D
You don't need to wear a mask to be yourself.As the world is, we would be faced wth critisism - some good, some ugle, mostly ridiculous. It's sad to know someone wrote such a comment on your friend's blog. As Keshi says, its your blog and it is your standard, as it is your life and your decisions.
Hey TA! :)
I started off blogging anonymously... then one fine day, I put a pic and my full name:) So I know what you're saying..:)
This multi-mask wearing business is all good when all you want is peace around you... only it doesnt guarantee peace within, no?:)
This post reminded me of that Evanescence track from the album fallen ... "Everybody's fool"? Quite extreme, doesn't fit your case at all.. :)
You write really well.
@ gautami...
i agree...sad isn't it...?
@ keshi...
thanks dear...
*I hv faced ALOT of situations like that in my blog.**
i know...u were also there in my mind when i wrote this...and i love the way you tell them off!!!
@ paisley...
that is a solution...but people love to know that you have read their comments..and if you don't reply...it defeats the whole purpose, don't you think?
@ ap..
well sung :D
how r the eggjams going (ziah...eggjams -this is your influence!!!)
@ rayshma...
i know...but i sometimes feel...being anonymous brought with it certain freedom....
and thanks... you just made me feel beautiful...:D
@ rambler...
way to be!!! i agree, but ...u have the advantage of blogging anonymously...see?
@ joy...
totally agree...constructive criticism is welcome...but blatantly putting down the poem as below standard was quite mean...'cos the friend then had second thoughts about posting his next poem...which i think kills te creativity...
as you say... i decide the standard...
hey zee...
u thought of everybody's fool..:( first of all, i realised that my music knowledge is pathetic.. i had to google for this and then i went "whaaaaat!!!"
okay...okay i agree...in any case...i could never hide myself from myself.....can i?
@ shyam...
thank you...i liked your take on music too..:D
Thought provoking. I personally found that this is the closest way to interact with like minded folks without any prejudices, politics and yes masks.
The best thing about this forum is that you're not obliged to react to any comments that don't fit in with your scheme of things. It simply doesn't matter.
Hope you continue to find joy in your blogging.
2 madhu...
Hmmm... i guess you are right... that's where the comment moderation comes in useful...sifting through the good and the trolls...:d
Masks reminds me of 'The world is a stage and the people it's actors' or something like it.
And truth be told, we've got accustomed to wearing these masks.
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