Masks have been a very real and present part of our lives during the pandemic, yet there is a different mask we all wear and often give little thought to, until it comes off.
As William Shakespeare famously penned, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players”.
Very much like actors portraying roles on the big screen or stage, we too perform our own versions of a masquerade on the stage called life. The good wife, good neighbor, good son, good worker, good friend, good luck! In our daily performance to measure up, why is it that we often can’t help but feel down. And for a world so infatuated with approval and applause, it sure does feel like good is never good enough.
2020 marked a time for us unfolding a real-life drama and tragedy that will not soon be forgotten. In it, we discovered the most challenging role of a lifetime is when we must be painfully true with ourselves and harder still, allowing others to see who we are, when the mask
comes off.
Quarantined, isolated and expressions hidden, strangely we all came face to face with a reality that forced us to reevaluate and reconsider everything. People, possessions (toilet paper?!) and the very performances we play every day assumed new levels of meaning as life uninterrupted was turned entirely upside down.
ALTER X coming into being is a direct response to that which was found in the process of looking into a mirror that no longer tells us what we want to hear. Instead, we are presented with much needed truth and a look behind our well-practiced improv. Warts, wrinkles, wrong
doings and all, our true reflection cannot be photoshopped and does not filter our imperfections.
It would be a real-life tragedy to hastily forget and so easily forfeit the deeper meaning we all have experienced through the pandemic. People, communities, and organizations, local and global, have been forced to examine values, motivations, and purpose at all levels. The “little things”, mere human contact, selflessly loving and serving others and the multitude of often overlooked moments we take for granted must be restored to their rightful place in both heart and mind as the true treasure that makes for a day and life well lived. These are the parts we should all desire to play openly, honestly and unscripted.
Before the curtain fully opens once again, we have a unique moment of our own making where we can all pause, reflect and ask questions of ourselves and each other hopefully with new eyes and hearts wide open.
We are all a work in progress. What masks have we been wearing that hide the truth of who we are that keep us from helping ourselves and others in a time of need?
How can we better forgive ourselves and others during a time when we all perhaps have not been our best selves?
To truly honor this time and discover some meaning through it all, is it ok to simply go back to “normal” and the way things were?
ALTER X Company is more than just another shirt and we all are more than just a moment. Something new was born in the storm. Like all people and organizations all over the world, we believe it is time to deeply evaluate where we have been, who we are becoming and make the
most of the opportunity we have been given to create a better path forward today, together.
Please silence your cell phones, your feature presentation is about to begin!
Masks off.
It is time to ALTER everything.
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