2622 W. Central - Suite 108, Wichita, KS 67203 316-612-0700 January 2016 Good Grief of Kansas, Inc. Website: www.goodgriefofkansas.org Email:
[email protected] The Mask We Wear As we stumble through our I would clench my teeth as a display The mask had not been violently journey of grief, life lessons can of perseverance, and the muscles in ripped off my face but gradually come from the most unexpected my face would strain from this act. removed of my own accord. places. A couple of years ago I went As I continued pretending to be Although the scars remained, it felt to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “okay,” my grief was suffocating good to feel the air on my face Phantom of the Opera. I had always underneath. As if trapped under ice again. What I learned from this been intrigued by the story, so experience is that as a society we on a lake, the emotions frantically seeing the play for the first time was still struggle with the subject of captivating. The Phantom’s name looked for way to break through. death. Using the analogy of the was Erik. He was a man with many Pieces of my mask began to chip Phantom of the Opera, imagine the talents, including music, away revealing the pain perspective of Christine as she architecture, magic, and science. underneath. Like the phantom, I stood face to face with the Yet, despite these gifts, people were was afraid of what others might Phantom. To look beneath the mask afraid of him because of his think when the mask was lifted.