Whenever two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as the other person sees him, and each man as he really is.
Okay, how haunting is this? I remember being a kid and recording my voice on a little tape recorder we had and when I listened to it, I did not recognize it as my voice. I sounded different than I thought. That moment really impacted me and my perception of myself. William James takes it a giant step more and proclaims that the way people perceive us is not the way we see ourselves and then questions whether we even see ourselves correctly.I am uncomfortable with this lack of control, this randomness. I will try harder not only to be the personI am but to project the reality. I suppose much of life is accidental and subjective. This is why the arts are so important - it allows you to express what is really inside, to tell the truth - to yourself and to the world. we only have one chance to "be real" - we have to take it. I close with a photo of an "accident" in my yard - climbing roses planted too close to a mimosa tree and a St. Joseph lily surviving amongst the tangle of jasmine. accident or serendipity?
b u
p s
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