I have mentioned on many occasions how working out tend to inspire my writing especially when I may have a mental block (all too common). Yesterday I didn’t just get an inspiration but a chuckle also.

It was about 4 in the afternoon and I am on the elliptical machine about half way thru my cardio. The gym overlook one of the pools and of course the pool area is busy in this first blast of pre-summer heat. In walks a 50-something gentleman with Spiderman slippers on. I don’t mean Spiderman slides. I mean dude had on the Spiderman equivalent of bunny rabbit slippers on! At the toes of these slippers was a Spiderman head!

I checked my heart rate and grabbed a quick swig of water to make sure I was not becoming delusional or dehydrated during this workout. I almost choked when the two women who were doing calisthenics behind me started a deep belly laugh. Those two laughing almost made me laugh and choke on water. Now c’mon you know you’ve almost choked drinking water!

Even though it was humorous, it hit me that he was being real. That is a rarity these days. We go thru life meeting and interacting with others all the time switching masks as we go. We even wear masks with our loved ones and sometimes even with ourself. No one including ourselves really gets to know who we are. That is so sad. We become emotionally and mentally paralyzed by seeking the understanding, the friendship, the love of others. Those “others” we seek that from may not even give a damn because they are too busy wearing their masks. When we have the ability to remove our masks we are dealing with the raw humanity of ourselves. It is in that humanity we should seek understanding, friendship, and love. At that point we are being real with ourselves and others.  That is difficult but we have to accept what is within us and others and inspire others and ourselves to change any deficiencies we see. Life is too short to be lost behind our masks. Being lost impedes our decision-making, our path to success, our friendships, our loves, being lost makes us a wasteful, unappreciative, selfish spirit. Find yourself, the beauty within, the mind within yourself and others just by removing your masks.

The guy with the Spiderman slippers may have worn them out of necessity or maybe he really likes the superhero. Either way he was being real and not ashamed of it. He removed his mask and didn’t care. He showed courage. We need to show the same courage every day and remove our masks. Be a superhero like Spiderman. Be real…be yourself.