Masks

“The Mexican, whether young or old, criollo or mestizo, general or laborer or lawyer, seems to me to be a person who shuts himself away to protect himself: his face is a mask and so is his smile.” (Octavio Paz, The Labyrinth of Solitude, 29)

In this article, Paz believes that Mexicans wear masks to protect themselves.  What is a mask?  A visible mask hides the true identity of the person.  Invisible masks also hide something.  They hide the person’s true emotions and feelings.  Paz referred to this when he said that a person “shuts himself away to protect himself” and his face and smile are not true emotion but a mask.

I recently watched a movie with my kids called Radio Rebel.  It was about a teenager who is shy, vulnerable and scared to show her true self.  Her step-dad, the manager of a radio station, allows her to become “radio rebel” for a radio broadcast time.  As she is radio rebel, she expresses her true feelings and emotions without vulnerability.  As she does this, she finds other teenagers feel these same feelings.  She becomes a role model for hundreds.  She finds herself struggling to take off her mask of being “radio rebel” and be her true self.  She is afraid people will not like her once they find out who she is.  As the show ends, she comes to realize that sometimes you have to take risks, become vulnerable and allow people to see our true selves to realize that we can be accepted for being who we are.

The attachment theory comes in to play here.  We have an attachment to other people to feel safe, secure and happy.  Some people are too afraid to attach themselves to others for fear of rejection and insecurity.  People who wear masks fall into the category of being afraid to attach themselves to others for fear of rejection and insecurity and as a result become sad.  If they are willing to take a risk and allow themselves to become vulnerable by showing their true selves, then they will find acceptance from others and feel happy with that attachment.

Change

"Runaway slaves no longer came and thrust themselves into the hands of Candido Neves." (Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Father Versus Mother)

Father Versus Mother is about a man named Candido Neves, who is a slave catcher.  When business becomes slow, he has financial problems.  He loses his home and is pressured to get rid of his newborn baby to save on costs. When there is no other choice, he is forced to get rid of his baby, but at the last moment, comes across a runaway slave and makes enough profit to keep his baby. 

When business became slow, why did Candido not change his career? Even when it affected his family so deeply, he still kept trying. Why? It is pride.  Candido once received good money doing this trade and felt that he could again. So he continued to wait for it to happen. He also might be afraid of change.  Maybe he felt that he would not be able to do anything else.

 

Candido reminds me of Hem in Who Moved My Cheese? In this parable, there are two mice named Sniff and Scurry, and two mini people named Hem and Haw. They all live in a maze and would receive cheese to nourish them and make them happy.  Soon the cheese disappears. Sniff and Scurry immediately set out to look for more cheese. Hem and Haw wait for more cheese to come.  Haw eventually realizes the cheese is never going to come and sets out to find more. Hem continues to wait for more cheese to come, knowing eventually it will come even though he becomes more and more hungry.

Sometimes pride and fear keep us from change. Change happens whether we like it or not, and the quicker we are able to adjust to it, the better we will become.  If we are able to move beyond our fears, we will feel more free and happy.  If Candido were more like the others and realized that when the cheese/money was gone, he needed to change and find another avenue to earn money, maybe he would have still been in his house and had the means to provide for his new baby without any need to get rid of him.

Enjoy the Journey

"His friend and his wife were no longer enough for his being, filled with great desires and noble ambitions."  (Jose de Alencar, Iracema, 93)

As I was reading this section of Iracema, I noticed that Martim lives in a beautiful area that is peaceful and calm, has plenty of food, a beautiful wife that cherishes him and a bond with a friend that is comparable to a brother.  He seems to have everything that someone could want.  So why is it that he is no longer content with what he has?  Is this human nature or just an unappreciative man?

As I pondered these questions, it made me think of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  Again like Martim, they are given everything that could make them happy, a beautiful area that is peaceful and calm, plenty of food, and companionship, and yet, we find that they too are not content with what they have.  I’m sure like Martim, they started out with being content.  As time went on, Eve found herself wanting more and when tempted to partake of the forbidden fruit, she realized that this was the only way that she could gain more knowledge and experience more, so she partook of it.

It makes me wonder if even at the beginning of the Earth there was this desire for more, that maybe it really is in our human nature.  But as we discussed in class, there is this fine line in being content with what you have and desiring more.

Leo Babauta said “So contentment isn’t a matter with being content with your situation in life and never trying to improve it.  It’s a matter of being content with what you have – but realizing as humans, we will always try to improve, no matter how happy we are. If we don’t, we have given up on life.”

I think he is exactly right.  We can be content in any situation we are in life, however, it’s not going to change that we always want to improve.  So improving really is human nature, but it is also a matter of being content in the changes that we make in life.  As President Monson says, we need to “enjoy the journey.”  

Simple Pleasures

Almeida Junior, Jose Ferraz de,  The Guitar Player, 1899

Almeida Junior, Jose Ferraz de,

Life in the Countryside: Chopping Tobacco, 1893

Jose Ferraz de Almneida Junior is the artist of Life in the Countryside: Chopping Tobacco and The Guitar Player. While a lot of paintings being created at this time were based off of Greek mythology and historical events, I was drawn to his style in these two paintings. They portray a sense of pleasure in simplicity.

If we look at the Life in the Countryside: Chopping Tobacco, we see that the walls in the background are falling apart and the subject is not wearing shoes. This could symbolize humble surroundings. Looking closer at the subject's appearance, we see that his clothes are dirty. This could symbolize that he is a worker of some sort. A lot of times in modern society, when we depict subjects of humble circumstances it is associated with pity and sadness for their circumstances and how a little contribution could help their situation. This picture does not portray that at all. It actually depicts a look of pleasure on his face. It could possibly be because he is in the process of making a cigarette and he's anxious to smoke it, but I tend to think that he is simply taking pleasure in the few moments he has to himself.

As we look at The Guitar Player painting, we notice the same type of wall falling apart resembling humble surroundings. Their clothes also look worn or dirty from possibly working hard. However, like the painting mentioned above, the look on their faces depicts pleasure for being able to take a few minutes for themselves and enjoy the music.

It makes me wonder, how often do we actually take the time to enjoy life's simple pleasures? We live in a world where we are constantly busy and have no time for simple pleasures. If we were to look at the faces of those that are hurrying from one place to the next, we can easily see the seriousness of their faces and not the few moments of happiness we all desire. I wonder if everyone were to take a few minutes each day for a simple pleasure, if we would be living in a happier world?