Can we really know a person – for real? I mean, is it possible to really know a person? Or are we the only people who know ourselves (or, do we even know ourselves like we think we do)? The latter is beside the point, so let’s not digress.
If only we know the reality about the people we care about, if only the cloak of mystery that surrounds every human being will be removed, I guess it would be easier to deal with people. There’s no need to pre-judge a person… no need to act so cautiously thinking that we might be doing the wrong thing and the person might react negatively to what we do (no matter how innocent or sincere our intention)… no need to second guess, wonder, and suffer trying to decipher the mind of a person just so we’ll know how to react the right way to that person.
Why do we really need to put on masks? I guess because we’re afraid of the world. Because of our need to conform. Because of the fear that the world will not like what they see when we reveal ourselves.
But, recent events have showed me just how unhealthy this part of human nature is. Because of the masks that people around us wear, we are unable to relate to them in the best way we can. And because of the masks that we ourselves wear, we deprive ourselves of the chance to be really seen, and to be liked the way we are. And this makes everything complicated.
Yes, we become vulnerable by revealing ourselves – whether it’s to the people we deal with everyday or, yes, to that person we care about so much. We might get hurt. Our dignity and pride might be trampled.
But, what about the rewards? What about the possibility of being liked and loved just the way we are? What about the possibility that the person we care about so much will reciprocate the feelings that we have? These are only possibilities, but don’t they hold promise?
