Breathing In Unison
No one perceives us exactly as we are - not even ourselves. We exist as shifting versions of ourselves, like multiple realities breathing in unison - some of which we never knew existed. Each interaction, each gaze, each smile shapes a subtly different reflection of who we are - coloured by the observer's unique experiences, emotions, and understanding in those particular moments in time and space. Even those who love us most will never fully grasp the entirety of our being, just as we can never fully see ourselves. We may feel seen by them, yet there will always be nuanced differences - whether glimmers of brightness we fail to recognise in ourselves or fractured facets hidden in our blind spots.
Perhaps this is why we are drawn to complexity in others - because through them, we fall in love not just with their intricacies - but with our own. Stories are more beautiful when they are layered, when they echo something deeply human. I sometimes feel suffocated by complexity, yet just as much, I am captivated by the tangled thoughts I cannot easily unravel.
Perhaps what we miss is not only their presence but the way they saw us - the unique version of ourselves that existed only in their eyes. I find this beautiful - the transient nature of these alternate selves. Perhaps this is why some absences weigh heavier than others - because they take with them a way of being that no one else could ever quite mirror back to us.
What you capture with words in the present, that beingness, you do so with a gentleness that let's it breathe, living on, even as those words dissolve after my moment in reading them. Grateful.