People and Stuff

I've been doing a lot of people-watching lately. Perhaps "watching" isn't quite right. It's somewhere along the lines of observing. It's even more interesting to watch people you know, because you get to see their behavior in different conditions.

Our behaviors aren't quite as fixed as we'd like to believe. Around different peers, our behavior changes, reflecting strong facets of other's personalities. We reflect the people around us, as part of our natural want to be part of a unit, and be liked by our peers. This causes something you've probably all seen, either because it's happened to you, or to a friend. At some point, one person will develop feelings for someone else, and at some point, you will reflect that esteem onto the other person. The same can be seen in group, or mob, mentalities. The individuals begin to lose their identities, and become as one unit. Distinguishing personality traits meld into the more broad vision of the gathering.

In addition, there is a tendency among many people I know (and possibly people you know, my one dear confirmed reader) shield themselves from hurt. There is a propensity to call this strength, but I feel differently. I don't believe that strength is to hold yourself apart, and to not rely on anyone else. In this blogmistress' humble opinion, I believe that strength is the ability to open ourselves up to the possibility of deep and piercing hurt, and not be afraid to care about someone just because they have, or may in the future, cause you pain. While we cling to feelings of resentment and fear, we limit our ability to better ourselves and grow outside of the limits of what we can achieve alone. There is a measure of personal growth that can only truly be attained through our relationships with others.

I do plan on breaking up these huge walls of text with pictures later, but I've been writing this from the mobile app, so my formatting abilities are somewhat limited.

So, until next time I feel like blathering away at you, adieu
Raven