Every time I get closer to a person and they start unravelling their secrets, I realise how deceptive our perceptions of people really are.

It is so easy to believe someone’s life is perfect just because we cannot see the sadness behind those smiles. It’s so easy to think that all the hardships only fall upon us and not others. It’s so easy to blame God and ask ‘Why us?’ Just because we cannot see others sufferings does not mean it doesn’t exist, just as a smiling person doesn’t necessarily equate to being a happy person.

Sometimes I feel nobody is really happy, we all wear our masks because it’s so much easier than explaining to others what’s going on in our lives. Not because others won’t be able to help us but because we know they’ll tell or ask us to do the same things that we have been doing and or may be ignoring due to the fear of the possible consequences.

We all fear change despite knowing it’s inevitable. So we pretend we are fine, we pretend things can’t get better. We don’t ask questions because we already know the answers and the answers haunt us. So we stay quiet, we stay miserable. Each phase of clearing the cocoon can be a little scary sometimes. It just feels so safe in the protection of that ‘comfortable cocoon’. We know how beautiful it will be when we evolve into the butterfly mode. However, each step of the process can bring up little (or sometimes big) fears that keep us wanting to go back in there instead of breaking ‘free’ to ‘be’ the beautiful butterfly that we are destined to be.

We might ignore the realities all day long by keeping ourselves busy, but at the end of the day when we are alone with our own selves, that’s when regret hits us. And trust me, the only thing worse than a superficial fear is regret.

So if you’re reading this, and there’s anything you know you should be doing but are scared to do, go do it. Don’t fear change, and don’t let it get to you. Life is too short to let a small fear halt your progress, hurt your inner peace, your growth and, most importantly, your self-respect.

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 21st, 2017