Clint - Camouflage

Hmm..., I guess you are all picturing a soldier in army gear. Interesting train of thought, but that, is another story. The art am referring to, dear reader, is not restricted to an elite few. It is a skill we have all acquired.

Why do humans struggle to hide their faces and shade their eyes and glove their finger-prints?
While all creation displays its uniqueness like a flag on the ship’s mast for all to see and all to deal with (accept).
The Zebra is as proud of his stripes as the donkey is of his lack of them.
Cheetah exhibits her spots, speed and agility to show she is different from the leopard who climbs up tall trees for the same reason.

Elephant parades his weight like the whale and never tries to lose it. I never saw a giraffe stooping her neck; she stands as tall as she can.
Which cactus ever mimicked a rose?

Interesting to note, God gave each of these the ability of camouflage to achieve certain tasks (mostly temporary) – escape an enemy; pounce the prey. Yet, they always stay true to themselves. A chameleon, for example changes when on the hunt or in flight but under normal circumstances is her own colour.

We are so hell bent on hiding our true identities that we don’t know who we really are. It’s only in the innocence of childhood that we express our authenticity without remorse. We put on honesty like a crown, and if anyone has a problem with it, the problem is theirs. Parents are always scolding the kids for being blunt. A lot of the time the honest truth is not the nicest thing to say. So, in an endeavour to avoid stepping on the all too big human toes, we tip toe around the truth and bite a persons back.

With time we fabricate a set of lies that define us. A personality we coin our own, which is at best, a mask. Well, I think we just can’t handle rejection. If someone rejects your mask, you can always get another disguise. But what happens when you display your uniqueness like a flag on the ship’s mast, and it is not accepted? Where do you go, how deep does that burn, knowing there is nothing more you can do to gain that approval or better that image? Many people, after experiencing such a great disappointment early in life, crawl into a cave, a shell of sorts. They hide their true self far inside themselves to protect it from hurt. Unfortunately, protection from hurt is the same as protection from love.