Masks and Mirrors E-Book

Horacio Alberto Calcagno

• Herausgeber: Editorial Autores de Argentina
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 209

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

With profound eloquence and ageless wisdom, Masks and Mirrors unfolds as a work wherein each tale functions as a literary scalpel, incisively dissecting the true essence of being. Horacio Alberto Calcagno, a distinguished notarial assistant and member of the Argentine Register of Writers—honoured with commendations and a medal by the Secretariat of Culture of the Argentine Nation—combines his studies in philosophy at UCA and medicine at UBA to proffer a unique and provocative vision of existence. Throughout these pages, words transform into instruments that strip reality of its illusory masks and challenge the reader to embrace introspection, much in the manner espoused by Gurdjieff with his unyielding yet compassionate scrutiny. Calcagno beckons us to renounce the lethargy imposed by a consumerist and competitive society, thereby kindling an awakening that unveils the soul's authenticity and dissolves the veil of self-deception. Masks and Mirrors emerges as an urgent summons to question imposed certainties, paving the way towards genuine freedom illumined by meditation and erudition. With incisive irony and unrelenting rigour, the author dares us to peer beyond mere appearances, urging us to discover the radiance that dwells in the depths of our being.

Leseprobe

HORACIO ALBERTO CALCAGNO

Masks and Mirrors

Calcagno, Horacio Alberto Masks and mirrors / Horacio Alberto Calcagno. - 1a ed. - Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires : Autores de Argentina, 2025.

Libro digital, EPUB

Archivo Digital: descarga y online

ISBN 978-987-87-6411-5

1. Autoayuda. I. Título.CDD 158.1

EDITORIAL AUTORES DE [email protected]

Table of contents

Prologue

Tale 1: The Mirrors of Hastings

Tale 2: The Weight of the Word

Tale 3: Voluntary Blindness

Tale 4: The Empty Triumph

Tale 5: The Broken Reflection

Tale 6: The Unbearable Lightness of Gold

Tale 7: Truth Made to Measure

Tale 8: The Invisible Chain

Tale 9: The Contract of Affections

Tale 10: The Distinguished Art of Doing Nothing

Tale 11: The Subtle Art of Not Asking

Tale 12: The Man Who Won Without Living

Tale 13: The Shadow That Never Left

Tale 14: The Throne of Sand

Tale 15: The Code of the Just

Tale 16: The Message of the Lost Voices

Tale 17: The Museum of Forgotten Lives

Tale 18: The Cross of the Just

Tale 19: The Mirror of Others

Tale 20: The Kingdom of Perfect Reasons

Tale 21: The Mirror That Never Lies

Tale 22: The Man Who Never Was

Tale 23: The King and the Monk

Tale 24: The Judgment of Fools

Tale 25: The Man Who Knew Too Little

Tale 26: The Merchant of Truths

Tale 27: The Rebellion of the Mirrors

Tale 28: The Man Without a Name

Tale 29: The Kingdom of the Gazes

Tale 30: The Beggar of Praises

Tale 31: The Labyrinth of Prestige

Tale 32: The House Without Reflections

Tale 33: The Collector of Titles

Tale 34: The Deceit of the Ascetic

Tale 35: The Sacrifice of the Ego

Tale 36: The Fair of Virtues

Tale 37: The Banquet of the Charlatans

Tale 38: The Impostor Master

Tale 39: The Shadow of the Saint

Tale 40: The Mirror of the Centuries

Tale 41: The Reflection of Betrayal

Tale 42: The Dance of Silences

Tale 43: The Faceless City

Tale 44: The Bag of Nothingness

Tale 45: The Cemetery of Lost Things

Tale 46: The Empty Ovation

Tale 47: The Library of Silence

Tale 48: The Memory Factory

Tale 49: The Gallery of the Invisibles

Tale 50: The City of Broken Pacts

Tale 51: The Truth That Is Never Spoken

Tale 52: The Loudest Silences

Tale 53: The History That Is Rewritten Every Day

Tale 54: The Farewells That Never Occurred

Tale 55: The Ritual of the Daily Lie

Tale 56: The Mirrors That Distort More Than Faces

Tale 57: The Feast of the Impeccable

Prologue

Cities teem with light, noise, and relentless motion. Yet behind every building, every meticulously rehearsed smile, every promise of success, there lies a truth seldom questioned—the reality hidden behind the illusion.

Masks and Mirrors is not merely a collection of tales. It is a journey through the shadows of perception, through the very mechanisms that compel us to believe what we wish to be true, through the fictions that underpin our everyday existence. With each story, we scrutinise pride masquerading as certainty, ambition cloaked in the guise of progress, and truth rendered malleable.

Within the Seneca Philosophical Group, reflection has always been the cornerstone of our quest—to learn to see beyond the obvious, to challenge the unchallengeable, to unearth meaning amidst the clamor. As the last member of this tradition, I have poured into these pages the essence of our teaching: the imperative to observe without preconceptions, to comprehend without fear.

This book offers no definitive answers, only the questions that truly matter. Here, stories come to life. Here lie the mirrors. The reflection, as ever, depends on those daring enough to look.

Horacio Alberto Calcagno: Last member of the Seneca Philosophical Group

Tale 1

The Mirrors of Hastings

Part 1: The Theatre of Life

Hastings, the ancient coastal town of England, awoke amidst gentle mists and seagulls drifting like scattered thoughts across a grey sky. In the heart of the town, Henry Wagner, a renowned architect, beheld his reflection in the expansive bay window of his office. A man of note—celebrated for his avant-garde designs and impeccable precision—yet was his life not itself a carefully sculpted reflection, crafted to conform to external expectations?

His wife, Mary Kent, a journalist in the truest sense, served as a pillar of honesty in an industry where truth all too often donned disguises to suit conflicting interests. Henry admired her sincerely, even as he had come to master the art of coexisting with his own internal theatre: uttering what was expedient, dressing in due manner, and acting in line with the occasion.

Marcos, his 20-year-old son and a student of psychology, possessed an inquisitive mind and a rebellious heart. He discerned the hypocrisy that pervaded the world and unmasked it with probing questions that unsettled those around him. In one fateful conversation with Henry, he cast the first stone destined to shatter the impeccable family façade: —“Father, how can you design flawless buildings when the very foundations of your life are based on mere appearances?”

Henry laughed with graceful ease, dismissing the remark as the fleeting whimsy of youth. Yet that very night, as he stood before the mirror in his study, Marcos’s words echoed in his mind. What if his son were, indeed, right?

Part 2: The Inconvenient Truth

Summer in Hastings brought with it an air of renewal. Henry, long accustomed to projecting perfection in every line of his designs, began to sense a slight misalignment within his own world. The days slipped by in a series of meetings, blueprints, and shallow conversations with colleagues who, like him, had mastered the art of courtesy without ever revealing their true thoughts.

Yet his son’s remark lingered, tucked away in some recess of his mind. That evening, at dinner, Mary introduced a report she was preparing on political corruption. With deep passion, she detailed how certain public figures publicly championed principles while negotiating private interests in the shadows.

“It is astonishing how hypocrisy turns into a habit, almost a necessity for survival in certain circles,” she declared with a firmness that Henry recognised well.

Marcos, keeping his gaze fixed upon his father, interjected, “Not only in politics, Mum. The same holds true in everyday life, doesn’t it, Dad?”

An unexpected discomfort welled up in Henry—as if, for the first time, he saw himself reflected in all that he had so often condemned. For years, his life had been built on silent pacts, strategic concessions, and a meticulously curated version of himself. Was he truthfully any different from the very politicians Mary held up for denunciation?

That night, in his study and before the blueprints of his next great project, Henry gripped his pencil without drawing a single line. For years, he had crafted buildings that embodied harmony, stability, and coherence. But what remained of all that in his own life? For the first time in many years, he felt his inner structure tottering.

Part 3: The Architecture of Truth

Henry awoke before dawn, when the city still exhaled a quiet calm. He made his way to his study, where his latest designs awaited his approval. He examined the clean lines on paper, the mathematical precision, the structural logic. Yet something was missing— anything that no blueprint or calculation could measure.

That day, he resolved to act. He cancelled a meeting with investors and set off for a stroll through Hastings, without any fixed destination. He wandered along streets that, though well-known, appeared transformed in the light of his newfound disquiet. He paused before an antiques shop and, on impulse, stepped inside.

Among the scattered relics, he found a mirror with an aged frame. It was neither imposing nor particularly beautiful, yet it held a certain allure. He saw his reflection within it—the same familiar image he had always known. But for the first time, he could not tear his eyes away.

That evening, at dinner, he spoke without hesitation. “I have spent too much time designing façades,” he said in a calm yet resolute tone. “But the foundations of my life can no longer remain empty structures.”

Mary listened intently, without interruption. Marcos offered a brief smile, as if acknowledging the onset of an inevitable change.

The following morning, Henry arrived at his office and, without any hesitation, amended the blueprints of his next major project—not to make them grander or more imposing, but to imbue them with a deeper truth. For at last he grasped that not only must buildings be founded on sound ground, but so too must life itself.

Tale 2

The Weight of the Word

Part 1: The Official Truth

Hastings awoke to its customary routine: the morning coffee in households, workers fine-tuning details in constructions that promised a brighter future, and politicians crafting speeches that concealed more than they revealed.

Henry Wagner, the architect who had made precision an art, found himself in a meeting with municipal representatives. He was designing a series of buildings that, according to the mayor, would be “an urban revolution for the city.” Yet, as he presented his blueprints, the figures in the documents failed to add up. The promised materials were not those that would actually be used, and the investment figures were blatantly inflated.

Mary Kent, his wife, was receiving unsettling information at work. An anonymous informant had sent her documents exposing the corruption behind Hastings’ property projects: tampered figures, contracts laden with hidden clauses, and ghost companies laundering money under the guise of urban development.

Marcos, his son, observed how lies had become the common tongue in every social sphere—evident in advertisements, political speeches, and even in manipulated academic reports. At a family dinner, he posed the question that unsettled his father: —“Dad, if everyone knows that the buildings will not be as they are claimed to be, why does no one speak out?”

Henry fell silent. Lies were no longer an occasional aberration; they had become the accepted norm.

Part 2: The Frontier of Silence

The Hastings sun cast long shadows over the buildings under construction. Henry observed how the structures began to rise, following plans that, on paper, promised a significant change for the city. Yet the figures and materials were not in keeping with the initial promises.

Mary, for her part, was poring over the documents her informant had sent. Every page confirmed what was suspected: the projects were grossly inflated in cost, investors were shielding private interests, and the city was destined to receive far less than had been announced. What was disquieting was not the falsehood itself, but the ease with which everyone embraced it.

One afternoon, as Mary was organising her notes in the room, Henry watched her silently. He knew that his wife wielded the power to expose what others preferred to ignore. Yet if she spoke out, the very foundations of the system might tremble.

“Is it worth making this public?” Henry asked, with genuine doubt in his tone.

Mary lifted her gaze and replied without hesitation, “The question is not whether it is worth it. The real question is how we survive if we do not.”

Marcos, who had been listening from the other side of the table, interjected in a tone that brooked no indifference, “The problem is not merely who lies—it is how many are willing to remain silent so that the lie may endure.”

Henry felt a new weight settle upon his shoulders. How many times had he remained silent to avoid conflict? How many times had he designed structures without questioning what he was truly building?

That night, in his study, he perused the blueprints of his next edifice. In every line, in every calculation, there lay a choice. And for the first time in years, he realised that to remain silent did not signal neutrality but an involuntary participation in the deception.

Part 3: The Price of Truth

Dawn over Hastings rose with its customary indifference. But within the Wagner household, the air took on a different tone. Henry scrutinised his blueprints with a fresh perspective—one that measured not only angles and materials but also the ethics underlying every drawn line.

Mary, with her report prepared, faced the decision of whether to publish it. She knew that truth, however plain it might be, always came at a cost. To expose the fraud would mean unveiling powerful interests, and not everyone was willing to pay such a price for the sake of principle.

Marcos, attuned to his parents’ silences, spoke up at breakfast: —“If the lie is accepted, who then decides the moment when it ceases to be one?”

Henry closed his project folder. The answer did not lie in precise calculations or lofty speeches. Lies do not vanish on their own; someone must confront them.

That afternoon, Mary published her report, detailing every manipulated figure and every fraudulent contract. The repercussions were immediate—phone calls, veiled threats, and also the support of citizens who knew what was in fact going on and needed someone to say it aloud.

For his part, Henry made a definitive choice: he withdrew from the project. He knew that his credibility was worth more than any contract. Building on false promises was not true architecture—it was complicity.

The weeks that followed brought tension, yet also a peculiar relief—the kind one feels when, for the first time in ages, one ceases to uphold a lie through silence.

Tale 3

Voluntary Blindness

Part 1: The Silent Truth

The lights of Hastings shone upon the newly inaugurated buildings, reflecting the progress everyone longed to see. In the newspapers, headlines celebrated economic growth, new projects, and promises kept. Yet beneath that brilliance, in the corridors of power and in the discussions among those who truthfully set the city’s course, there lay a knowledge that never reached the common folk.

Henry Wagner, an architect of precision, designed structures that defined the urban landscape. In his office, he perused the blueprints of his next major project—a residential complex that, according to the municipality, was meant to bring wellbeing to thousands. Yet among the technical documents lurked clauses that few would comprehend and even fewer would dare to question.

Mary Kent, an investigative journalist, was well attuned to the dynamics at play. Reality was not merely what was shown, but what lay concealed behind the absence of inquiry. In her latest article, she exposed how certain political decisions served to benefit a select few under the guise of collective welfare.

Their son, Marcos, a student of psychology, observed the world with a growing sense of unease. —“If people do not question what happens around them, how can they be sure that what they believe is real?”

Henry, long accustomed to constructing without challenging the system, felt a disquieting repulsion at the question. Was ignorance in fact an accident, or had it become a tool of control?

The city celebrated progress. Nobody asked any questions. Everything continued along its predetermined course.

Part 2: The Invisibles of Power

The property development project advanced without opposition. In every public speech, the leaders assured that Hastings was entering a new era of development. Yet behind the conferences and inauguration ceremonies, Henry began to notice unsettling details.

At a meeting with investors, he heard terms that never appeared in the official documents—fund redirection, administrative adjustments, undeclared projected costs. Nothing was illegal on paper, but everything indicated that the profits from the project would not benefit those who truly believed in progress.

Mary, investigating independently, discovered that the same patterns were recurring in other cities. The citizens accepted the official information without question, trusting that the system was designed to protect them. However, the system protected no one, only those adept at manipulating it.

Marcos, observing his father’s perplexity, raised the question that no one wished to answer: —“If no one asks any questions, isn’t it everyone’s fault that this continues to function?”

Henry felt the weight of the question. He had built buildings that people admired, yet now he wondered if he had constructed something more—a false illusion of stability founded on the absence of inquiry.

The citizens continued to celebrate progress, but no one looked beyond what was presented to them.

Part 3: The Price of Ignorance

The construction of the property development project continued unabated. The official speeches still nourished the narrative of progress, whilst the city accepted the version presented to it without question.

Henry, in his office, examined the plans with a sensation that had not previously troubled him. Everything was technically coherent, but not morally so. Every line of the design contributed to a reality that—though legal—was founded on the ignorance of those dwelling in Hastings.

Mary, for her part, had finalised her report on the fraud underpinning the project. In her article, she revealed how the absence of questioning allowed certain sectors to accumulate power whilst the majority remained indifferent. In the publication’s comments, some citizens expressed astonishment, yet many more reacted with apathy.

Marcos showed his mother a comment: —“Look at this, someone wrote: ‘It has always been this way. What is the point in worrying?’”

Upon hearing his son, Henry grasped the true dimension of the problem. Ignorance was not an imposed barrier—it was a comfortable choice. Questioning demanded effort, discomfort, risk. But not questioning... that ensured a stability, albeit one built upon a deception.

That evening, Henry reviewed the plans one final time. For the first time in years, he considered that his work might be more than mere architecture—it could become an opportunity to challenge the city’s passivity.

Mary knew that her article would not transform the system overnight, but it was a first step. Marcos, observing his parents’ reactions, realised that questioning had never been the problem; the issue had always been the failure to do so.

The lights of Hastings continued to shine. Yet some, for the first time, began to look beyond.

Tale 4

The Empty Triumph

Part 1: The Unstoppable Race

In Hastings, everything had its price—the buildings, the connections, even dignity. Henry Wagner, a renowned architect, had built his career on the unyielding principle of efficiency and grandeur. For him, success was not merely a goal; it was an absolute necessity.

Meetings with investors grew ever more extravagant. Projects swelled in ambition, size, and impact. Each new commission promised to transform the city, generate wealth, and solidify his reputation as the very architect of progress. And Henry believed it wholeheartedly. He was convinced that every tower erected, every contract inked, every accolade earned, brought him one step closer to the purpose he had so meticulously charted for his life.

Mary Kent, his wife, observed this frenzy with the calm patience of one who had seen too many such stories play out. As a journalist, she recognised the pattern: ambition cloaked in vision, and ego masquerading as decision.

“How much more do you need?” she asked one evening, as Henry pored over the blueprints for his next grand building.

“It’s not about need—it’s about achievement,” he replied, his eyes never straying from the calculations.

Marcos, their son, watched his father’s relentless ascent with a mixture of admiration and perplexity. In his psychology classes he had studied the cost of obsession, yet at home he witnessed it unfolding unremittingly.

The city celebrated every new milestone of Henry’s. Hastings was being transformed. And he pressed on relentlessly, never pausing to ask what lay hidden behind the sheen of triumph.

Part 2: The Invisible Frontier

Henry’s meetings with investors were becoming ever more exclusive. The project that was meant to transform Hastings was reaching record figures, and he found himself at the centre of success. He was celebrated in interviews, opinion columns, and public speeches. The city advanced, and Henry was hailed as its star architect.

Mary observed her husband’s enthusiasm with the calm of one who had seen too many stories repeat themselves. She knew that absolute success carried its own side effects, even if Henry remained oblivious to them.

At home, Marcos watched the scene with a more critical eye. Studying the consequences of obsession on the human psyche, he saw that his father was trapped in a cycle with no escape. —“Have you ever wondered what happens after you reach the summit?” he asked during dinner.

Henry smiled. —“After the summit comes an even higher peak. There is always a next step.”

Marcos glanced at his mother, expecting some reaction. But Mary merely continued eating, fully aware that Henry would not grasp the warning until it was too late.

Weeks passed, and the pace of the project began to quicken. Henry attended more meetings and signed contracts without scrutinising the details. Every decision was made on impulse, exclusive of pausing to consider its real impact. Ambition had transformed into sheer urgency.

Then, a technical error in the design emerged—a calculation that did not quite add up. Small, yet dangerous. Henry noticed it in the reports and, for the first time in months, felt something he had not experienced before: unease.

His son’s question echoed once more in his mind: What happens after you reach the summit?

Part 3: The Last Goal

The project was progressing faster than anticipated. Henry saw no warning signs—only ever-increasing figures, accolades, and fresh opportunities. Each success pushed him to the next, leaving no room to question his course.

But then, the technical error he had noted began to escalate. Inconsistencies in the structural calculations were reported—nothing catastrophic, yet enough to sow doubt.

Mary warned him to review the project with greater care. Marcos asked whether he really understood the limits of what he was undertaking.

“There is no problem that cannot be resolved,” Henry replied, without ever diverting his gaze from the documents.

Yet the first signs of instability in the work soon emerged, and with them, the reality he had long ignored.

On the day of the inauguration, the speeches were flawless. The cameras, the applause, the press—all conspired to elevate Henry to the pinnacle. Yet something in his expression had changed.

That night, seated in his office, he gazed upon the plans. He had achieved it all, but he had never considered what might come next.

The structures he designed were solid. But the one he had built on his own ambition harboured fissures that no one else saw.

Tale 5

The Broken Reflection

Part 1: The Perfect Image

Hastings awoke under the grey autumn sky, while along the main avenue the posters of the new electoral campaign adorned every corner. Amid faces wearing calculated smiles and slogans extolling progress, the figure of Leonard Alston stood out—a businessman turned politician, utterly obsessed with public perception.

Henry Wagner, an excellent architect, had been invited to design the new governmental centre. In the meeting with the project leaders, he listened attentively to the requirements. —“It must convey greatness, authority, solidity,” declared Leonard in a tone that brooked no argument.

Mary Kent, covering the story as a journalist, scrutinised every gesture of the entrepreneur. She knew that behind his fixation on image lay something deeper—a profound fear of irrelevance.

Marcos, their son, regarded Leonard’s conduct with keen curiosity. —“The people who most need to prove their importance are those who harbour the deepest doubts about themselves,” he observed while reviewing his psychology notes.

Henry designed the building exactly as requested—impressive, imposing, monumental. Yet, as he traced the blueprints, he found himself wondering whether he was truly constructing a space of power or merely fashioning a grand mask.

Leonard posed for the cameras, convinced that the world perceived in him precisely what he intended to project. But pride is indeed fragile when its sole foundation rests upon mere appearance.

Part 2: The Fear Behind the Smile

The construction of the new governmental centre was advancing at a rapid pace. In every interview, Leonard Alston spoke of grandeur, of how the building would embody the future of Hastings, and of how his leadership would usher the city into a new era. Yet whenever the cameras were turned off, his expression would change.

Henry Wagner, while poring over the blueprints, began to notice that Leonard’s directives lacked any functional logic. The largest rooms were designed solely to impress, devoid of true utility. Every architectural detail bore the mark of the politician’s obsession with appearing imposing.

Mary Kent, watching the interviews, discerned the first signs of insecurity. Leonard’s responses were measured to the millimetre, his tone conspicuously rehearsed, and his posture unyieldingly rigid. “He is terrified of anyone discovering who he truthfully is,” she remarked to her husband.

Marcos, for his part, analysed Leonard’s behaviour through a psychological lens. “Vanity is always a mask. No one who is really confident needs to prove it all the time,” he observed quietly.