Puppets and Masks

A mask is something to hide your own identity with, hence it's name. When you wear a mask you tend to forget who you really are. It seems that you start a new life. The same can be said about puppets. However some puppets have an almost human aspect to it in which inadvertently gives it a creepy feeling that it is also alive. As normal humans we have expectations of someone when we look at them. We do the same thought process when we see puppets because of their humanoid form. We give personalities to them based on their shapes and appearances. The same can also be said that you lose your personality when you use a puppet. However, because this puppet has a sense of a humanoid form it takes a personality of it's own and you may end up doing things that you would normally not do. This humanoid form also seems to be able to take blame. "The puppet did it, not me." While experiencing this effect first hand, I found myself fighting against the urges of the puppet. The puppet would urge to do something yet I knew it was something I didn't want it to do. If you ever use a puppet properly, you will notice that the gaze of the victim will always be on the puppet, not you. Another strange quirk of human mentality.

We are all the same

One of the most recurring concepts in teenagers is the concept of individuality and being unique. We are force fed the idea that we need to be unique and this manifests itself in various forms that may seem unorthodox. The first is the strive to perfection. When one strives to be perfect, they want to be on top. The core of social hierarchy is the inherent difference in the top and the bottom. The bottom is many while the top is few. Perfection is a way to climb up this system. The second is to be different from everyone else. Being unique is when people delve into the taboo of society. Trying things that are unknown to others and delving head first into the esoteric arts. The last is isolation. While this is the more difficult one to understand it all relies on an subconscious form of individuality. This form is when the individual removes themselves from society and creates an illusion that they are different from the rest of society; most typically the idea that they are not human. In reality people are nearly the same. The fact that these types of displays of individuality are categorizable show that all humans are the same. We all share the common methodology of thinking, what keeps us different and not a race of clones, is that we think of different topics at different intensities, one person may like history and know more about history and think more about history, while another might like something along the lines of astronomy. That is what defines our brains while our memories define our personalities. We all share this natural human framework that allows us to think in this way, and our thoughts are much more similar than most of us would expect.

Pay Attention to Others

The truth is that it's never about you. It's always about other people. This is something that one must accept to be able to move on in life, otherwise we will all remain fools. With this simple step in mind, we must realize what other people think and take from you. People are the biggest influence to others, there is no differentiation. A stranger can effect you as much as you best friend. The only problem here is that you can't change what other people do, so what can you do? You can change yourself, and this is what everyone should do. We need to start looking at other people and understanding their feelings and desires. At a certain point in one's life you need to realize that everything that humans do is manipulation of others. To accomplish anything one needs to manipulate others. But, not everyone really understands what others feel. While you may be thinking, I know what people feel, I can tell. Sometimes when one person seems one way, they can be having the exact opposite of that emotion. When a self-sacrificing person offers to leave a group so another can join, it's not always the best thing to do to let that person leave. Sometimes that person should stay. Every single kind person is self-sacrificing and to deny them of the group pushes them into more suffering. The hardest people to read are introverts. When you think they are doing one thing, they are really doing something else or want something else. Most introverts may have an outward appearance of disgust toward all others, yet they are usually some of the kindest people and best friends out there. While personally I am still working with observing people, I can't tell you how to pay attention and understand the feelings of others. The best advice is to think before you make a decision that effects that person. Everyone likes to have fun no matter how "kind" you are. It's not right to sacrifice one person for another, even if the group has a unanimous decision on it.

As humans, we need to be looking toward other people and begin to understand them. Just take a minute and review the decision and the effects on the feelings of the self-sacrificing person. Maybe just take a minute and watch what other people are up to instead of having conversations yourself. You may start to notice things.