Thursday, November 26, 2009

The Person in the Mirror: How do you see yourself?

Over the years, I have come to realise that humans beings, by nature are creatures who want to fit into a social universe. While many profess not to care about what others think, the reality is different. A majority of people become depressed and agitated when it becomes clear that they're not accepted by a group of people or by a person of concern.

I vividly remember a wedding I attended a few years ago. I remember this particular wedding because of the events that preceded the ceremony. A friend and I planned on attending the wedding and we agreed to "dress to impress". That fateful afternoon, I was all dressed and smelling good when my friend "appeared", badly dressed. The dress was clearly 2 sizes bigger and did not fit her at all. She asked me, "what do you think?" For a moment, I was speechless. The dress clearly did not fit and there was no way I was going to tell her otherwise. I looked at her in the face and said, "It's big. It doesn't look good." The party literally ended at this point because she got so mad at me for not appreciating her. She left the party and because we planned it together for a long time, I got bored and left the party prematurely as well.

One thing is clear. My friend must have looked at herself in the mirror before leaving the house. Considering the fact that she is a lady of great taste in fashion, I suspect she knew the dress was big and did not fit. But somehow, she was hoping people (including me) would see it differently.

This human tendency goes beyond dressing. Many people seek to potray a different picture of themselves. For instance, broke and struggling people want to appear rich, losers want to appear as winners, you name it.

The bottom line is that people pretend and ignore devastating consequences. Nowadays, people drive cars that they should not be in, people live in houses that they should not be living in, people wear dresses they should not be wearing - all in a bid to sway public opinion. As a matter of fact, people want to be rich for all the wrong reasons and this has driven many into debt. Needless to say, their stress level is high because they're living a lie. Is it worth it?

I know some people will be quick to point out that it's alright if it makes them happy. No doubt, happiness is important but there're ways of being responsible and happy.

In life, it's important to know what others think of you, although the clearest view depends on how you see yourself.

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