There is only Tao

I felt it, however briefly. A shimmering neon blackness. Utterly devoid of thoughts, emotions and being.
It welcomed me, like an old friend. Familiar.
Ah, it is only the shortest glimpse I get. How many layers of garbage I have! They block this beauty that lies deep within me. Like the golden Buddha, covered in protective clay, we have a shimmering preciousness inside that, when set free, is more powerful and complete than the person we could be without it.
The vanity we cling to obscures this force. It forces us to carry more masks than we need to wear.
I still maintain that some masks can be necessary. And, on some level, the wearing and shedding of the masks is fun. In improv comedy, I invent and destroy characters with such rapidity that their having existed at all amuses me. Similarly, in a packed day, that might include a trip to a store, a conversation with family, hanging out with friends, and meeting new people at a party, I might wear many masks, and at the end of such a day, I feel satisfied with the quantity that I have lived.
I need to have a strong center to maintain a steady rotation of masks. Without that, I become confused, and think that I am the mask. The center comes from regularly cleaning the mind of the remnants of the masks, so that the Tao can be found, and the silent observer can view one's actions with clarity.
When I view my life through the silent observer's lens, I am not overwhelmed by challenges, I don't cling to my thoughts, and I experience every emotion so fully and completely that they all feel like different forms of bliss.