Take a Bow

There are those in this world who would have you believe they are something they are not. There are people in this world who have conceived of a lie so great that they themselves can no longer decipher the truth. There are those whose idea of who they should be are so grandiose that it is easy to feel yourself succumbing to this impression of a seemingly flawless person. These people are quite honestly some of the greatest performers you may encounter in your everyday. Performers are not all they are, they are sellers of sort. They sell you an image that they have spent their lifetime perfecting, and they do this by holding strong in the belief this is who they are and are meant to be.

Knowing and even befriending these people can be benign. However, to date one can result in an ongoing catastrophe. Their minds are so methodical that it is hard to know when you have actually penetrated beyond the surface level face that they display to the world. This is assuming you are even aware that you are dealing with someone who is selling an image, which is usually a fairly easy task. In getting to know one of these people, you will see that their personal life, the life not on display to the world, is largely out of order. Now, granted, orderly in one's life can be subjective, but I am speaking about things such as bills, family, and housing. And I am not speaking about disorderly at the time, but disorderly all the time...in fact I challenge you to call them out on the disorder of their personal life. Their reaction will likely confirm that this person does not have control over anything beneath the surface.

There is a song that comes to mind in addressing this topic, "Take a Bow" by Madonna. In the song, she calls the object of her affection, "one lonely star, you don't even know who you are". These people are often so busy putting forward their image that they are not equipped to relinquish it when the curtains close and there is nobody watching. In this sense they do not know who they are. They do not believe in frustration, arguments or negative emotions, because that is not a part of their show, so when these occur they cannot handle it. They do not know how they are supposed to handle it because they are stuck in the image they have created. When they are confronted with authenticity or the hurdles that one must encounter in life they will almost always act irrationally. They strive to be close to those who have a natural light not the artificial one they have created. They will run from those who have begun to see through the image. In the end you must question is it worth it? Is it worth it to be with someone who is constantly performing, who creates drama by their avoidance of it? My advice is when you see the warning signs that the person you see out, is not the same person behind closed doors... when you see the disorder...when you find that their attraction to you is because of the light you can naturally bring to a room instead of every and anything else about you...when you find that this is the person you are dating, leave. In the end, do you really want to spend a significant amount of time with someone who is so caught up in their image they cannot assume the natural task of being real?