Adam Roa - Masks

We are now recommending that use face coverings when they are in public

This is the right way to respond to the pandemic. We all understand how important social distancing is in this fight

Everyone is wearing masks now, but is it really that different than before

Feels like the fabric on their face is just a physical representation of a mask they already wore

and I don't even blame them anymore. Living in this world that's lined with stores

ads convincing them if they simply walk in the door, they can leave with something new that makes them better than before

But what's in store for a world that at its core is full of people afraid to show their face

if it has one clogged pore? But now no one shows their face at all

so does it even matter anymore? I'd trade away your perfect skin

just to see your teeth when you smile again. Been a while since I hugged my friends

so I dialed to them and watched as their face pops into a screen that means that we both being seen until I step in the wrong direction and then I lost them Poor connection Is that the reason for the disconnection or just a reflection

I guess the answer resides with me. How much of my insides I let you see, whether in your presence or connected virtually

Vulnerability. because if I'm concerned about you hurting me then certainly there's bound to be a poor connection surrounding me

because what you found isn't actually me a clown, my frown painted into a big smiley

I'm good I'm fine yeah, I'm doing okay lies told by so many people

day after day and they want to be heard but are too damn afraid

that if they scream out in pain no one around them will stay so they keep their mouth shut

till it eats them away and no one knows to tell them the truth

that there's only one way if you want to be helped you have to be willing to say I not okay I am not okay

And that's okay. I don't have to be perfect. Perfect doesn't even exist

I know I'm doing my best and sometimes my best looks like shit. I might cry

I might scream, make the whole thing seem worse. I can play the role of the victim, blame the whole universe

But first, yeah, I guess maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I just tried being honest about the day that I've had

Because it made me sad. I feel really sad. And each day is getting harder and it's driving me mad

trying to keep my head above water, takes all of the strength that I have

and it still feels like I'm drowning. Life feels so hard I keep trying to pull it together but I keep falling apart and every time that I break it makes even more scars So I put a mask on my face to cover my heart

Can you spot the pattern now? The cycle of inauthenticity. Unhappy adults are what wounded children grow up to be

But they are not broken. They're just like you and me, and we can help them heal, feel whole and complete

But that healing can't happen unless they're willing to be seen. So unless you're leading with compassion, you won't change a thing

because they won't let you see them until they know that they're safe

And the best way to show them, take the mask off your face