Beth's Ponderings
I once had a friend
express that she was glad to know I got angry after I’d totally erupted in a
public venue. I, on the other hand, was
surprised that she would even consider that I DIDN’T get angry, because I most
certainly do, and I definitely express it, though not always publicly, yet just
often enough to get me into trouble.
As well, I found
some of the reactions to my recent makeover to be in that same category. One person actually said they were surprised
to see me wearing a dress?!?! Now, THAT
should NOT have been a surprise to anyone who knows me in the slightest!
So, why these
reactions? It seems to be a case of
people only seeing me, or interacting with me, in a particular setting or
circumstance. Or, else they just aren’t
paying attention.
Just because you,
in particular, have never seen me angry, doesn’t automatically mean I don’t get
angry. Just because you, in particular,
haven’t seen me wearing a specific item of clothing, doesn’t automatically mean
that I don’t. And, more important, just
because you, in particular, have seen me act or dress in a certain way, doesn’t
automatically mean I ONLY act or dress that way.
While we humans are
multi-faceted, our interactions with the people around aren’t always. We tend to make assumptions about what we
think we know about others, and then it is so easy, and very tempting, to look
at them as equivalent to cardboard cut-outs - in a static state, never changing.
We often do this with people we have limited contact with, but we can even do
this with close family members.
But, life doesn’t
work that way. We have many sides and
aspects to our personalities that may, or may not, be expressed depending on
the situations we find ourselves in. As
well, we are always changing - even if we don’t think we are - and we bring
those cumulating changes into each and every interaction we have with the
people around us.
As much as we think
we know the various people in our lives, we may not know them as well as we
think we do.
Beth
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