When Two People Meet

When two people meet, say Person A and Person B, it's not just two people meeting. In fact, there are at least ten different "people" involved in the interaction:
First and second: there's who A thinks A is, and there's who B thinks B is;
Third and fourth: there's who A wishes to be (or not to be), and there's who B wishes to be (or not to be);
Fifth and sixth: there's who A hopes B will think A is, and there's who B hopes A will think B is;
Seventh and eighth: there's who A thinks B is, and there's who B thinks A is;
And, finally, ninth and tenth: there's A, and there's B (just as they are).
The paradoxical thing about all this is that, in their interaction, A and B become different from the people they were just prior to their meeting. Such is the ever-changing nature of beingness: from moment to moment, we're still "us," but we're not the people we once were; nor are we the people we're becoming. The sad thing about all this is that only two out of the ten "people" mentioned above are real: A and B as they are. Strive always to be who you are and to present who you are as genuinely and as honestly as you can to the outside world (which includes you!). If you don't know and recognize yourself for who you really are, how will you ever be able to give who you are away to others?
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