Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Ever wonder how other people see you?

I've always been curious about this. Yet, it's virtually impossible to know, unless one were to bug some people's houses, phone lines, mic'ed someone, etc. and I'm sure once these individuals found out about this invasion of privacy, they wouldn't have very nice things to say about the curious individual. The only other way I can think of this being possible is if there's life after death and one is able to watch and listen to people interact, perhaps lending some insight in how they viewed another.

Most times, there seems to be a certain percentage of honesty when a person speaks of another to their face and also when they speak of them behind their back. There is probably some honesty in both scenarios, but it's not complete honesty most likely. They're probably more complimentary in person and more critical away from the person. One would have to try and balance these two set of circumstances to garner a clearer picture of how another sees them.

I find it to be fascinating to a certain extent. How do people in general view another as they make their presence known somewhere? How do friends or family view this same person? What do they say about him/her when they're not present? Do they genuinely mean what they say when they are present? How differently do people one associates with view him/her? Do three different friends view the same person drastically different from one another? If so, why?

I think it all depends on experience. People whom have no affiliation with another may judge them as they enter a room, but that's all it is. They have no idea what makes the person who they are. All they know is what they see with their eyes from a first-impression standpoint. Acquaintances may have a vague idea of another person, but may have trouble with specifics, since the two haven't engaged in many deep and/or personal conversations. Partial friends may be a step up, but in a more autistic sense, where they may know one side of the person very well, yet aren't cognizant of all the other sides the person presents. This can be true of distant family members too, I'd think. Friends and other members of the family may have a better idea of who the person is, where they know several components of the whole and fairly well, but still are unaware of many other components. Close friends and members of the family, along with girlfriends/boyfriends (sometimes) and spouses, I imagine, have the most accurate image of another, but even then, all of their experiences will differ, so their images of the same person will likely differ as well. Then the person him/her-self will have the very best idea, as they may not open up to certain people and may hide certain things from all others to the point where only they and maybe one or two other people are aware of the event/thought/feeling. Even the person him/her-self, though, is in a constant state of learning, expanding and changing. I think it's virtually impossible for anyone to have a clear 100% accurate reading of another, but I'm still very intrigued in seeing/hearing just how another honestly sees me. I'll never know and I doubt anyone else will, but it's interesting to think about, for me at least.

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