This world that we live in is amazing. It's bright, it's beautiful, it's mysterious and ever changing. It has so many amazing and wonderful features, 99% of them I will never see. And people - people are even more fascinating and wonderful. The human mind is something that, even with all of our vast technology and endless study, will never be completely figured out.
I am fascinated by behavior. I WISH, oh how I wish, I could figure people out.
We are all here together on this beautiful planet with these fascinating minds and we are just screwing it all up.
I was chatting with a friend today and we were talking about people we thought were "good" and those that were not so good, and it occurred to me that no one really knows 100% how another person is - what is truly in their heart. We only let people see what we want them to see. For most, we try to only show the good parts, the accomplishments and the kindness. Others gain satisfaction sharing weaknesses and faults. But in most cases, there is more to someone's true personality and heart than what they ever show.
So where, in all of this, is the reality? There really is no reality anymore. Heck, even reality TV isn't "real". Young rock star wannabes put "amateur" videos on YouTube that are made to look like they are just hanging out in their living room playing the guitar and singing to the camera. But if you look closely, you will notice that there are several camera angles throughout the song and there is no background noise at all - hmm, could they perhaps have recorded in a studio??
The point is - there is very little these days that is completely raw, real, or unscripted. And we, as friends and family and acquaintances, are just as scripted and fake with each other. We censor ourselves, we put on airs, we proclaim innocence while hiding what we really do, we say we are one way when we are the other. We scold those that don't "do right" as we do the same wrongs. There is no reality. Social media perpetuates this by providing us with check boxes and categories to define who we are (or who we want people to think we are) on our profile. It provides a platform for us to say things that we don't have to actually subscribe to or even believe in, but people *think* we do because we trust that what is said (and our interpretation of it) is the truth.
What frustrates me sometimes more than anything is that when I see someone being fake, there really is nothing that can be done about it. As we become more electronically social, we become less personable and calling someone out on bad behavior or telling someone how you really feel is quickly becoming a lost art. People get offended and for some reason many feel we are no longer allowed to point out when someone exhibits bad behavior.
I try to be as real as I can. I am overly honest to a fault, but I still have things that I don't talk about. I am by no means a saint, either. But I just wish more people would be real and stop trying to be someone they clearly are not. Be real. If you don't have anything interesting or compelling or valuable to say, don't say anything - or better yet, say something if you feel you need to but be REAL. Be honest. Be boring. It's OK. Truly. I am tired of trying to sift through all the smoke and mirrors to find the truth.
Until,
D
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