If no one knows you, then you are no one.
Dan Chaon
I found this quote at the beginning of One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakaruni and have been pondering over its meaning. In the book, a group of people are trapped in the basement of a building after an earthquake and they spend the time telling stories about themselves.
I wonder if anyone really knows us. We show ourselves by our actions and we tell about our lives, our opinions, our thoughts, but do we ever reveal our inner selves? Don't we all carry secrets? Isn't there a secret self beneath the persona we show to the world? If you were trapped in a situation in which you might die or might be rescued and never see the people you were with again, would you tell your deepest, most personal truth?
Monday, September 5, 2011
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6 comments:
I have thought about this often actually. Sometimes it is in the form of those 12 or so minutes that the plane crashed over the water on route to Russia (I believe.) Twelve minutes is a long time to make a slow decent to your death. What would be the last thing you would say to the person beside you? Would you comfort or need comfort?
Annie, thanks for your comment. I think I would probably say, "Please hold my hand." As for whether you are no one if no one knows you, I'm not sure how to take that. If you don't share yourself with others, maybe you're sort of invisible.
Like Annie, I have thought about this a lot too. I think most of us have a core self that no one else can know. Not necessarily because we are keeping it secret, but because it's impossible to share? There is so much to our inner lives...how do you express it? Reveal it completely? And do you want to? Not with just anyone probably. But even your significant other probably can't know you completely.
I agree, Michael Ann.
I think it's true that no one else can really know us- except God. All we can do is share ourselves with each other the best we can.
Very nice post, Thelmaz.
Lynn, thanks for your thought. You're right.
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