What Do You Wish People KNEW MORE About You?

If Only They Knew You’re More Than What They Assume!

Before reading this piece, I would like to remind you that you might need to grab your box of tissues and perhaps a towel as well because today, your eyes will become as wet as they possibly could. Today, I’m going to touch your core deeply, prompting you to either curse or appreciate the moment you decided to read this piece. Let’s take a deep breath first and unfold our story one word at a time: inhale for four, hold for four, and exhale for four. Repeat until you hear a noise coming from the middle of your butt and feel relaxed and chilled.

Now that we are done with the mental and physical preparation, I want you to stick with me for the next few minutes and actively participate in this reflective moment. We, as humans, are made of hidden stories. Inside us, we hold secrets to our souls and, sometimes, a bunch of waste that ends up in the toilet. Don’t take my words as a joke; we are a collection of images that we think of ourselves and what others think of us. We treat others the way we imagine them, and others treat us as they think of us, and in most scenarios, those images are incomplete and, worse, inaccurate.

Let me ask you this: Suppose you are caged in the middle of a group of people like a dog, mouth muzzled, neck, feet, and hands chained. You can’t talk, shout, or move. All fingers are pointing at you, blaming you for what you have done, and criticizing your attitude, character, and behavior. Calling you names and asking you to behave in a manner they think is ethical or appropriate. Imagine those people judging everything you have done from their perspective and asking you to change yourself to fit them better.

Imagine with me for a moment that none of these people have taken the time to listen to what you have to say or understand why you have done certain things in a particular way. Just imagine that none of these individuals are interested in understanding your background and where you are coming from. How would it feel deep inside?

How many relationships have ended because of quick judgment or lack of mutual understanding? How many people have destroyed a vast collection of beautiful memories because they didn’t take the time to understand what the other person has to offer? What the true value of the other person is? How many times have you felt that you are left alone, wondering that after what you have done, no one is capable of understanding you on the basic level, never mind a little bit deeper?

I bet most of you are married, or have kids, or close friends with whom you always get into fights and sometimes lose for a long time because both of you felt that you were not understood enough, and you wished the other person had paused for a while and took the time to understand you better. Do you think this is your mistake for not presenting yourself in the right manner, or is it their lack of empathy that causes this lack of interest in taking the time to understand your true value?

For me personally, I wish people knew that I do things to the best of my abilities and offer my soul with complete generosity until I can’t push any longer. I wish people knew that I’m patient enough to go far but far enough to drop everything around me and call it done. I wish people knew that the person they see in front of their eyes is only a fraction of what this person dreams of becoming, and I also wish that despite how selfish I can be, I only wish for the best interests of all, maybe if people knew that about me, I wouldn’t have to struggle so much with people.

I don’t think it comes from a lack of communication, but rather, I feel that we, as humans, are selfish as fuck. We only hear what we care about and align with our self-interest, neglecting or filtering out everything that goes against it. It’s in all of us, and I don’t care if you are Jesus, Muhammad, Adam, or God Himself. We all look for our interests and call the things that go against and out of interest. Therefore, we only judge others kindly when their attributes align with our interests and spread hateful words against them when their attributes, actions, and behavior go against us.

Let’s forget about the crappy explanation for a while and focus on a single moment, a moment of truth, a moment when you felt so misunderstood that you wanted to tell the other person, “I wish you knew this about me.” If I unleashed your muzzle, released you from chains, and let you speak, what would you say? Say it loudly but without spluttering on my face. The mic is yours. Go on!

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— © Nour Boustani 2024