"I realized something the other day" by Molly Englehardt

I realized something the other day.

Nobody knows a person more than they know themselves, which makes sense, considering the amount of time a person has to get to know themself. But what I have noticed is that people think of themselves differently than others might perceive them.

Someone could view themselves as loud and extroverted, but because they are tamer in public, many people may see them as quiet and reserved. In a similar case, someone could have many deep-rooted insecurities, but because they portray a bubbly attitude, people will perceive them as such.

It's an interesting concept--it weakens the definition of who a particular person is, blurring the lines between character traits. 

Can I truly ever understand someone in the way that they understand themself? Is it possible to be on that level of emotional freedom?

I wonder sometimes how the world would be if people understood each other to this extent---the human race being capable of fully understanding the emotional inner workings of another person to the degree that there is nothing left to the imagination. How would that affect person to person interactions? Would we collectively grow tired of one another, as there would be nothing left the learn, nothing left to understand?

Though I'm curious, it is an experiment that is impossible to emulate. The insecurity of one's lingering thoughts could not be so simply computed to another person. It's not an environment that can be synthesized in a lab; it's an impossible standard---Nobody is willing to share their innermost thoughts with others. Be it the fear of judgment or rejection, or wanting to keep the sanctity of privacy, some thoughts are to be kept to one's self.

People have their private thoughts, their private emotions-- and in differentiating cases, a person may share a varying amount of said thoughts.

I've thought about this for quite a while, mulling over the possible effects of this phenomenon. If we as a race cannot fully comprehend one another's emotions and feelings, what does that mean for the interactions we've had thus far? Human interaction may seem to be over-glorified. Even though it's considered to be a necessity for society to function, we still lack a complete understanding of such communication.

With this in mind, can people really say they know one another?






Comments

  1. I was just thinking about this the other day, too! I think the best thing about having friends is the getting to know them - even if you don't know them completely, spending time with them and learning about them is always an adventure.

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  2. This is a really interesting concept and in the end I think it's a good thing that we can't know everything about the other's inner most thoughts!

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  3. This is so interesting! I think its true that no one knows you better than yourself, but its sad to think that I will never get to know the people I'm closest to, to the full extent.

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  4. This is really interesting topic. I think the best part of getting to know someone is learning about them and building that connection that could lead to lifelong friendships and memories. Love how you wrote this.

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  5. This is such an interesting topic and I think about it all the time. There is this documentary called "In & Of Itself" and it explores a concept similar to this. I think you would really like it!

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