We have all experienced it. Our fingers fly across the keyboard, pounding out letters we string together into words we attach to each other, all creating an expression, opinion, declaration, we would hesitate to share in person. I call it Courage by Keyboard. The young boy reveals his crush to the girl he’s been eyeing for months. The cyber bully’s hurtful and slanderous remarks storm across the screen while maintaining anonymity. The writer reveals something of himself through his blog. The upset customer shoots off an email complaint to a business owner. Courage by Keyboard is much like a veil we can hide behind, removing it completely when the time is right for us, or removing it for a brief moment while we express ourselves in a way we wouldn’t normally. How courageous we are when we are comfortably shielded.

And yet…have you ever thought about the fact that on Halloween, we all blindly open our doors to people wearing masks? At what other time of year would we ever open that door without looking through the peephole? I know not everyone is a fan of this holiday whose popularity revolves around an endless theme of tales from the crypt. I however, am a HUGE fan! A day when it is completely acceptable to dress up as anything I want and not get funny looks? What’s not to like? Think about it, a golden ticket to be something you have always dreamed of being with no strings attached, unless of course you went with the Pinocchio costume. Through the years, I have witnessed the most reserved people come to life by simply donning a different wardrobe and slapping a little makeup on their face.

We have all felt that liberating feeling of getting into character and leaving our worries behind for a short time by letting our costume shield us from the real world and maybe even our true selves. Why do we wait for this one day a year to let a little bit of our carefree spirit surface? Let’s not get crazy and head to the office in costume. However, I bet I would have a heck of a day if i started my morning dressed as Wonder Woman! My point is, there’s a little super power in us every day of the year. It’s just that sometimes we get so caught up in our daily life that we forget that superhero is still in there.  And wouldn’t it be nice to go through life knowing you have the strength of that special letter on your chest? I don’t know about the rest of you, but there are days when I could use that Wonder Woman feeling of being able to take on the world! So, let’s not be afraid to embrace our inner superhero, princess, knight, or whatever allows you to take on your world one battle at a time. We don’t need a costume or a keyboard to reveal what we are truly capable of, but it may not be a bad idea to start sporting the  Wonder Woman Underoos again!

Until then, cheers and Happy Halloween!

This was an excerpt from my book, Red Circle Days.