Behind the curtain

What do people see if they pull back the curtain?

Are you like the wizard in The Wizard of Oz? Is what people see of you the way you are when you are alone? Do your public and private selves match?

These are questions of authenticity. 

One of the nicest things one of our congregation said to my husband was that he didn't 'put on his vicar self' when he put on his robes. He is the same on Sundays as the rest of the week. Which is how it is meant to be. When our public and private selves match, life is a lot less stressful because we are not trying to keep a mask on. Yes, it can make us vulnerable. Yes, people will see our faults. But isn't that better than than the strain of trying to keep up a false image?