Beneath

What lies beneath? Often, we don’t even know, ourselves. We catch a glimpse, sometimes. The truth shines through from time to time, and when we see it in someone else, we, too, gain an insight into what lies beneath our own. And too often, it scares us. We hide it from ourselves as much as we hide it from others. We don’t want to see the demon’s gruelling visage in the mirror. We’d rather remain faceless. It’s easier that way. And the persona is just so pretty. But the persona is not beautiful.

The persona we wear not only protects us from the ugly truth. The demon’s visage is not the only face we hide. The vision of the Angel, too, lies there. As much as we protect ourselves, and our environs, from the demon, we protect our angel from ourselves and from abuse by the untrustworthy. We fear our strength as much as our weakness, our hurtfulness as much as our vulnerability. We are fearsome and fearful at once.

It is important to moderate our Angel and our Demon. Our Persona is our countenance. Its stoicism is a virtue. But it is also a hindrance. The tyranny of virtue keeps us from happiness. The suppression of passion can turn into complacency. The flame needs to be kept under control, but the embers mustn’t be smothered.

The balance is not only between the Angel and the Demon. It includes the Persona. Hide your Demon and your Angel as you must. But embrace them whenever you can.

Thanks, Akira and missbookthief, for inspiring this post