A Stranger Sees Us The Way We Are
Most of the time, people spend their days trying to present the best possible version of themselves to the world.
Most of the time, people spend their days trying to present the best possible version of themselves to the world.
We put on masks of perfection, calmness, and supremacy. Being one’s genuine, authentic self in social situations necessitates a certain amount of courage.
The question then becomes how we can cultivate the ability to accept and love all of ourselves, including our frailties. A solution could be letting an outsider see us in our raw state.
Strangers are better.
A total stranger has no idea what we’re supposed to be like or what we’re capable of, so they can take our word for it.
They’re completely disconnected from us, without any shared history or personal significance. They don’t know anything yet. We expose our entire inner lives to complete strangers when we allow them to see us.
They are able to see us as we truly are — in all our oddities, peculiarities, triumphs, and tragedies.
Should we believe strangers?
If a total stranger accepts us for who we are, it sends a powerful message that who we are is fine.
The stranger’s presence can provide the much-needed inner validation even if we receive no outward response.
Self-acceptance is a skill that can be honed and allows us to fully embrace the feelings, ideas, and actions that define us as individuals.
In other words, we need to stop being so hard on ourselves and start accepting ourselves as we are.
It’s not always simple to open up entirely and freely to a total stranger, so it’s important to be patient with ourselves and realise that it’s alright to take things slowly.
However, accepting our authentic selves requires being able to relax enough to let a total stranger see us, even if just for a little while.
What is next?
It can be liberating and therapeutic to let a total stranger see us as we truly are. To accept and love ourselves more fully, we may need to open our hearts and minds to new and unfamiliar people.
We have the potential to emerge from our shells and discover who we truly are; to accept and embrace our inherent frailty and recognise that this is a beautiful thing.
As a result, it’s okay that we show our true selves to a total stranger.