Do we know who we are, I mean who we really are? Or do we find ourselves lost under the seemingly endless list of roles we play and masks we wear to function in society? Can we even be real when we come home, or are we lost playing a role of child, adult, roommate, friend, partner, parent, grandparent and/or who knows what else? A great part of the spiritual path involves taking off the roles at least some of the time and learning to live in authenticity. It may be true that while we are at work we have to play the role of employee in order to keep our job, but it’s also true that in most other situations we can learn to be ourselves. There is probably a part of us that is frightened that our friends and family won’t like the authentic us, but if they only like us for our roles and masks that’s not of much value. I believe that people instinctively recognize and respect authenticity, and so in the end the few friends we may lose will leave because our authenticity challenges them to live in to their own. That’s actually doing them a service!