Most of us were given the gift of speech. The moving of our mouths and tongues, passing breath across our lips to make these noises is our most common medium of communication, but also the most dangerous. Words we speak can bring joy, encouragement, laughter, and comfort.
What about the other side?
What happens when we speak a bit too much?
What happens when we are more comfortable writing certain thoughts instead of actually saying them?
I have taken a very strong notice about our generation and the way we tend to convey how other people perceive us. Everyone seems to want the perception of happiness to be a trait other people see in us, but the unfortunate reality is how we tend to skew the truth. What I mean by this is no matter what may be going on in our lives, we often want to broadcast the illusion to the world of our lives being in order or unnaturally good.
With what reason?
I hate to be the person to bring up touchy subjects about personal situations because I do not really enjoy the backlash, but sometimes I feel as if some person out there will be desperate enough to listen. More often than my comfort allows, I read people expressing how happy they are in their lives, friendships, relationships, or marriages on social media and in person. There is nothing wrong with being in love and there is nothing wrong with expressing thoughts, moments, or emotions, but I fear something I call "The Line of Truth".
The Line of Truth is that boundary we have as people which lies between our own happiness and the happiness we show to the world around us. The way I see this line is as a division of our actual state of being and the image we want to convey to everyone else.
I knew this married couple who would blow up their social media accounts about how great their spouse was. What I am talking about is not a Facebook post to randomly encourage each other, wish a birthday or anniversary, or congratulate one or the other during a proud moment. These two would post public statements of how ideal their marriage was and brag on each other daily, or even more frequently. This continued for a few years, and nearly up to the day I heard they had separated and were filing their divorce proceedings.
What?
Someone I knew when I was much younger and reconnected with did practically the same thing as the couple I mentioned before, but his mistress of flamboyant bragging was money. Money he did not have. I can only see so many pictures of expensive watches, new cars, designer clothing, and negligent spending before I stop believing what I am seeing. Most people who paid any amount of attention would know the four entry-level jobs he had been hired and fired from shortly thereafter within a year's time could not support the lifestyle he claimed to be living. Then his whole persona was exposed as a complete farce. At nearly thirty years old, trying to convince the world of his success while being trapped inside his own lie.
Where did that get him?
There are many more examples, but I will stop right there. I just wonder why we think so much approval is needed by the world that we are willing to live and tailor our entire lives around a lie. There may be a few ignorant people out there, but I would really like to believe people can see through false stories of greatness as easily as I do.
Wrapping my brain around having people believe you are anything other than your natural self is very hard for me. Understanding why we have a need for false acceptance from people who do not matter baffles me to the core of who I am.
Wait, maybe that is because I actually know who I am.
Maybe it is because I actually know who matters to me.
Maybe it is because I know to whom I matter.
I know the people who love me.
They know who I am.
Do you know who you are?
-Drew
-Add me. Stalk me. Tweet me. I really don't mind.-
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The lyrics in the title of this blog came from this song:
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