Old Post #2

People never see themselves clearly. This is a very trite phrase but it is true nonetheless. You can never reach self-actualization because no matter how hard you try, you can not see yourself for how you truly are. People who have “found” themselves are full of crap. The only reason they feel that they know something of themselves is because they actually listen to the people around them and notice how other people react when they are around. It’s nothing special. It’s not like they suddenly cued into this magical world where they could see themselves for how they truly are. They just listen more than the rest of us.

Think about it.

Everything that we will ever know about ourselves comes from our interactions with other things and people. How do we know we don’t have food in our teeth? We simply look in a mirror or other highly reflective surface to check. It’s not like we can step out of our bodies and inspect it for ourselves. How do we know that we are nice or kind or respectful? We know from our interactions with the people around us. If they act as if we are nice, or kind, or respectful, then we automatically assume that this is true and then we know for the future that that is the way to act when we want to seem nice, or kind, or respectful to other people. The people we think of as strange or awkward do not notice the social cues from other people and therefore do not change their behavior accordingly. They do not consciously or unconsciously notice other people’s body language or tone of voice, the way most people do. We are constantly monitoring the crowds around us to make sure that we are acting correctly. The question is whether or not we realize that we are doing it. That is the only difference between self-actualized and non-self-actualized people.