A friend of mine once asked
Why do you smile when you’re sad?
Why do you laugh when you’re not happy?
Why do you speak politely when they don’t deserve it?
I answered
The truth is, appearances
If I look sad people won’t talk to me
If I don’t laugh they’ll think I’m weird
If I’m not polite, I’ll get the blame
My friend said you shouldn’t compromise
You need to stick to your values
You need to stand up for yourself
You need to face the problems head on
I told them they were right, but it’s not that simple
I need to keep up appearances for my job
I need to keep up appearances for my friends
I need to keep up appearances for my family
If I don’t, things will go badly
People are watching
And I’m not a person who can chuck it all out the window
Maybe one day I can do away with appearances
But for now I need to keep the mask on
It isn’t perfect, but for now it works
Alternative Yoga 