BEHIND THE MASK

Over the course of time, we established the notion that masks were associated with crimes or dress up parties. However, in these last few months where the focus of the entire world has been on preventing the spread of COVID-19, the place of masks have been redefined. Therefore, in many countries, masks are the new must have, with risk of fines and even threats of imprisonments, if one is found not wearing one in public.

Personally, on an average of four days each week, I spend up to half of the 24 hours behind a facemask. But for the somewhat muffled conversations, I have become used to wearing one so I don’t find it uncomfortable anymore and have successfully established connections behind these masks. However, walking along the corridors this morning, something struck me – the very fact that even with facemasks and without words, I had actually become quite good at recognising colleagues from a distance behind their masks.

Beloved, while it is very possible to hide behind a mask, we should not forget that even from behind these ‘apparent coverings’, our personalities shine through and our intentions can be perceived. The look in our eyes, the presence we carry and our relations with others, all these remain intact even from behind a mask. So realise that even though there may be a mask, behind that mask is a person about whom nothing has changed. We therefore have to see behind and beyond their facemasks.

#sly