Subject: Island of Temple People Date: 1/11/2009 1:07:31 A.M. Central Lemurian Time From: Nannie89@aol.com To: ClarisaT@yahoogroups.com
Clarisa,
Got your very short email. Sounds like the usual at work – either there are too many patients or not enough patients and there’s talk of lay-offs. How is Mr. Eagen doing? I miss his irascible behavior – much easier to deal with such behavior in a patient than in one’s mother.
Speaking of which, she wants to go onto the Temple People Island, our next stop. I mentioned that she will be exhausted if she goes, but she insists. Like that patient years ago who literally lived to dance. Do you remember? He went dancing every Saturday night – collapsed every Sun – slept to recover Sun to Wed – built up strength Wed to Saturday afternoon so he could go out dancing again. He died the day after a night of dancing, just as he wanted – “to live until he died” – the hospice philosophy. Everyone at hospice helped him achieve that. Again, it is easier to deal with a patient than one’s own mother.
I saw the Carnival posters as one of the events on the Island – made me think of masks. So I pulled out the collage card I made a few years ago and visited with what it had to say to me at that time.
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MANY MASKS
CORE MEANING:
I am the one who wears many masks
WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME?
I have many faces but none of them are the real me. I sometimes can hide behind my masks as they can protect me.
WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?
I want you to recognize how many masks you have, and also to recognize how many masks everyone else has also. We are all wounded and use our masks as protection.
HOW WILL I REMEMBER?
When someone has on a mask I don’t like, I will remember it is a mask – not the real person.
SHADOW OF THIS NETER:
To think that all the masks are real and not just a mask.
QUOTE:
“The Mask of Zorro” – masks enable people to do heroic deeds without being known.
RELATED STORY:
As I watched, the woman swept by with her Mardi Gras costume trailing behind – long feathers from her purple and green mask, sheer colorful material. She went to get her coat, and I saw her rip off her mask and throw it down. Underneath was a scary face – red, wrinkled, black eyeliner streaking onto her cheeks, red lipstick smeared. A frightening mask!
The handsome well groomed man approached. “Are you all right?”
“Oh, yes. Poor me – I don’t have the money to get home…” Her face, now in a pout, eyes flirting, as she corrected her makeup. This seemed even worse.
He left and she proceeded to the door. I looked out the window as she slumped down the front stairs. Gone were the masks – all of them. What was left was a sad woman trying desperately to be loved. Too desperately. She tried so hard to be liked by others that she never looked within. She had no face under her many masks.
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It all still pretty much applies. I tend to hide behind my many masks – much like a chameleon. Not sure if I’ll go to the Island, although Osbeth wants me to take her, of course. Not sure if Elsie should go – from what I’ve heard people saying, might be too dangerous. She can play with the other children in the nursery while we’re gone.
Write, and tell me more of what is going on. Yes, I know – working full time and having family responsibilities doesn’t leave you much time. Love to all – Nan
January 13, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Such a fine word, irascible. This is really descriptive.. it’ll be interesting to discover the real Nan as your story progresses
January 13, 2009 at 3:07 pm
What a wonderfully direct and open post. The collage and forthcoming dialogue, especially to remember, always be aware, that it is a mask, not the real person
…I very much liked the telling of this. Plus the sad story of the sad woman, never taking the time to see herself. Very gentle reminders to us all.
January 13, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Masks can be beautiful or terrifying – the danger is in when you forget what face is real and what one is artifice
January 14, 2009 at 5:36 am
What a clever way to unravel your tale.
January 14, 2009 at 11:22 pm
love your style. hope it’s okay, i added the link to this to my squidoo page as an example of how to use Soul Collage in different ways. Here’s the link:Squidoo Soul collage. Please let me know it it’s not and I’ll be happy to remove it if you wish.
I added my Squidoo page as a “class” that we do a the Temple Freya so that artistically challenged in our cabin can make beautiful collages to contribute as well. That’s Temple Freya Class
January 15, 2009 at 4:27 am
Nice compilation of ideas. You have a unique style–and it works.
February 9, 2009 at 10:38 pm
We are all different things to different people as we go through life. The mask principle says it very well.