“What we hunger for perhaps more than anything else is to be known in our full humanness, and yet that is often just what we also fear more than anything else. It is important to tell at least from time to time the secret of who we truly and fully are . . . because otherwise we run the risk of losing track of who we truly and fully are and little by little come to accept instead the highly edited version which we put forth in hope that the world will find it more acceptable than the real thing. It is important to tell our secrets too because it makes it easier . . . for other people to tell us a secret or two of their own . . . ”
I love this quote from Frederick Buechner. I think it is so true that we want to be fully understood but…….not really. We want to be loved for who we are but sometimes we are working so hard at being lovable that we lose ourselves.
Seeing ourselves for who we truly are, warts and all, is not an easy thing to do. It can be a painful process because we are exposing ourselves and others to our reality…..not the masks that we so often put on to make ourselves look better and feel better about who we are.
Keeping it real, being honest, and digging deep; all are part of the process of being known in our full humanness.
How do you feel about people knowing the real you?