Underneath
What you are underneath has a way of showing on the outside. Have you ever wondered what someone would think of you if they knew exactly what you were really thinking? Would you be at all uncomfortable at that thought? Our shape, our demeanour on the outside really comes from what's on the inside. From the overflow of your heart your mouth speaks. We may think that we present a good face to the world, but what we really show is a covered-up version of the truths inside - be it good truths or less-than-ideal truths.
Even that tried and tested metaphor of a grain of sand becoming a pearl is an example of a great big cover-up. But a pearl is something beautiful, you say. Ask the oyster that's in so much pain that it spends hours, days, weeks hiding that bit of sand whether he thinks the pearl is beautiful or not. Perhaps his perspective would be slightly different from yours. Sure, the facades we put up can be pretty impressive, but isn't it better not to need them in the first place?
Most of the time we're scared that if people really saw us as we are, no-one would speak to us ever again. But there's better news than that. The amount we hide from others depends on how much we trust them with ourselves. If we don't trust them to love us anyway, we don't show them more. As we learn to trust people, we understand that they will love us, and we are safe open up to them. There's an enormous amount of trust invested in building a transparent relationship. But what about if someone were to know everything you ever thought or did, when you hadn't chosen to trust them. If they somehow got behind or through your defenses, and there was nothing you could do about it. What a weight, what a threat hanging over your head! Before you despair, there is a happy ending to this little tale.
- Posted by flyingkiwi on 23/08/2006.
- flyingkiwi's site
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