My husband has a blog where he and some of his friends from college spout off about their various political opinions, among other topics. I am not an avid follower of politics like these guys, and therefore have never before posted on their site. Until today. Today I had a few things I wanted to say, but I knew that they would not listen or respect what I wrote. So I posted under an alias. Oh! the freedom I felt! I could say whatever I wanted and no one would ever be the wiser. Not only did I post once, I posted 4 times! Unfortunate as it may be, these gentlemen appreciated the comments left by a stranger (interestingly enough - a man) than if the comments had been left by their friend's wife.
These events led me to start thinking about Shakespeare and his commentary about the freedoms of being in costume. One of my favorite Shakespeare plays is "As You Like It." In the story, the main character- Rosalind - puts on a disguise and only then is able to truly talk and get to know the man she loves.
Think about it. If you were in costume and no one knew it was you, what would you do? I know you've wished you were invisible at some point, why? What is the appeal of becoming invisible? There is a certain freedom in word and deed when no one can connect them back to us.
Unfortunately, my brief encounter with "invisibility" was dashed by my husband's big mouth. But it did start me thinking about perhaps living more more often like I was invisible, except that I'm not. Would I be braver? Would my voice be louder? Would people - or even myself - find that I actually had interesting things to say? Maybe I should start giving it a try.