The Mask of Pride

Pride can build a golden wall that resembles strength while leaving a person alone inside. The perfect smile, the lifted chin and the need to remain above everyone are allowed to fall. Falling without a mask becomes the first honest breath and vulnerability becomes a doorway to freedom.

Anger restored a voice but its strength can quickly harden into another suit of armor. The Mask of Pride explores a defense that no longer kneels yet remains terrified of bowing its head. A perfect smile, borrowed wisdom and golden walls create an image of invulnerability. Behind it is a heart that longs for closeness while fearing the discovery of every crack. Pride here is not healthy pleasure in what someone has achieved. It is dependence on an image of strength and the need to hide anything that could disturb it. Its crown therefore keeps the key to its own prison. The way upward begins by trading the perfect pose for real scars. The narrator allows others to see him shake, bend and perhaps fall. His worth does not disappear. For the first time he falls alive rather than as an actor trapped inside a role. The way moves from superiority toward honesty. Once value no longer has to be proven with a crown, courage can appear from the willingness to step forward as a whole and imperfect person.