don’t try and make people up; dare to know them first!
the original notes from 15/09/26 that inspired me to write today’s entry
The other day (yesterday) we were in class studying British culture, which made me reflect upon the following: ever since I've had “memory,” the environment that surrounds my persona has tried to make me believe that it really is easy to unravel a person without knowing them. Based on things like “the colors they tend to wear, the way they talk, the way they move, push through crowds, and command their bodies”.
As human beings, we've learned (some, not all of us -, I suspect as a sort of survival mechanism) to make up speculations / assumptions about the person standing in front of us, when we know next to nothing about them! Who's taught us to think that we must care about how we dress and how others dress? How have we come to simplify a generalized image of a person based solely on something as unreliable as their physical appearance?
In my time of existence and observation, I've noticed that some people around the city I reside in display a tendency to focus on how a person is dressed, rather than the person itself, without even giving themselves a chance to know said person! With conviction, I find this to be a pivotal mistake in our way of perceiving the world in our contemporary times, for human beings have always been so much more than tangible, material, perceiveable elements.
We cannot give ourselves the luxury to try and speculate about people just by looking at them! For all human beings, have been shaped by multifaceted elements in their everyday chemistry, such as the social / environmental context that surrounds them. It really is impossible to predict human conduct, because we have a tendency to change every day as people (and here I want to make myself clear when I say that even though you can't predict human conduct, it IS possible to anticipate it, but that's a topic of discussion for another time.) Back to our main point: the tendencies and perceptions that shape us change, such as we change ourselves!
We aren't the same people that we were 3 weeks ago, nor are we, the same as we were 3 years ago. Once again, the very nature of our existence relies on multifaceted aspects such as the interpretations, reflections, conclusions, actions, reactions and decisions we come to make everyday; such is the reason why we live, and think the way we do. We are not mere feathers, floating in the uncertainty of the wind, but rather architects of our own story.
We're responsible for us, and society (as the fellow members of society we are), meaning we can decide to rewrite our story, our habits, and our way of thinking, whenever we decide to! We really can "make that change" (thank you, MJ, man in the mirror.)
In a world shaped by tendencies and the ideas of others, I offer the following perspective, as so many have done, and so many will after. "Dress up the way you want, command and move yourself the way that pleases you most” (so long as you don't drag anyone under your freedom, or risk the lives of people, including your own.) At some point in history the time of our existence will come to an end in the beautiful play of life, and we'll naturally be forgotten.
Oh dear reader, cheers! Cheers to a shared life lived to one's standards and desires. A fulfilled, fully explored, sung, danced, celebrated existence with wonderfully experienced memories carried by lessons born out of deciding to do what we want to do. In the palm of your hands, the ever-wholesome power of choosing! (Use responsibly, for you are accountable for yourself and those that surround you.)
With this, I leave you with the following conclusions. We, human beings, are made by and from the same matter. We're people, made from people, and in the immensily complex fabric of time and space, our existence represents a teeny tiny piece of the universe (someday I'll delve into the cosmic calendar, another time perhaps.) Why do we let others make us think that we can know a person based on how they look? A person isn't a color, nor are they a garment, an object, or a posession. We're so much more than that!
So my take is: "don't try to make people up, dare the know them!", and dare live the way you decide and want to live (once again, so long as you don't hurt, damage, or drag anyone under the power of freedom, including yourself.) Cheers to that! Cheers to an existence shaped by our own feelings, thoughts, and emotions, with wholesome experiences with other fellow earthlings. So come outside and feel the light, for It’s Better People love, care, and speak to each other. Sapere aude! (dare to know.)
“don’t try and make people up; dare to know them first!”
