"I don't want to be perceived the way I am. I just want to be perceived the way I am."
Relient K
Sometimes the way that we see ourselves and the way that others see us are not congruent. For example, I could be out driving on the roadways and be fully convinced that I'm the best driver out there. Nobody else but me deserves a driver's license. But I bet that the person that I just passed as I was cruising along 20 miles per hour above the speed limit would disagree. So it goes with many facets of our lives. I could think that I'm a dashing and debonair gentleman, that women want me and men want to be me, but my perception of myself does not have any bearing on the perceptions of others. Of course, I could hold my head high and exude confidence and actually be that charming gent, but, again, that perception would only be confirmed by a handful of people. There could be a number of people (a very large number, in fact) who think that I'm all talk, or all image, or all together something else entirely. So I guess this is where we run into an issue: whose perception is more important - our own, or others'?
I think the prevailing thought on this topic would be that we need to be true to ourselves. We are the only ones who come in contact with ourselves on a daily basis. In fact, we're with ourselves every moment of every single day. Since we have to spend eternity with ourselves as we are, wouldn't it make sense to become comfortable? Shouldn't we love ourselves for what we've become and what we're still to do? Aren't we to justify every action and decision we make as being the most important thing for us, as individuals? If I perceive myself as a wonderful human being, isn't that the most crucial thing to a healthy life? Perhaps, but what happens when my perception of a wonderful person is one that steals for personal benefit, or is mean, or is physically abusive? Let's say that I'm a ne'er do well who gets in fights and robs banks and is callous and biting to friends and foes alike...but I'm comfortable with myself. Would I have friends? And if I did have friends, would I have the type of friends who would want to curtail my behavior, or encourage it? And if I did have friends who wanted the "best" for me and wanted me to change my ways, would I listen to them? It's all very difficult to speculate upon. If I did listen to my friends and tried to change, wouldn't I then be caving into the perceptions of other people, rather than being comfortable and confident in my own? I mean, whose right is it in the first place to let me know what is a right way and a wrong way to carry on? Shouldn't I be the judge and jury of my own actions? Even if I don't know the full weight of any potential consequences, if I'm happy with myself why should anyone have the audacity to try and stop me?
Morality is a tricky thing. Every person thinks that their version of right and wrong is the correct one...hopefully. But are humans inherently wired this way, to try and do "right" and stray away from "wrong," or has it just been passed down from generation to generation? If it's passed down as tradition, then we didn't have any bearing on our own perception in the first place, right? And if it's given to us intuitively from birth, then no one can tell us that we're wrong...right?
I wish I had more time to explore this topic at the present time. We will pick up where we left off tomorrow.
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