Just because people look good or put together on the surface does not always reflect the inner reality of that persons life. Many people - myself included - put effort into maintaining a calm and composed exterior, while denying and suppressing the experience of their emotions and the reality of their self on the inside. Rather than living from a place of truth, honesty, freedom and integrity. The narcissistic tendency to project a complete "perfect" image essentially creates a prison - the prison of the image. When we suppress the self and our emotions in favor of projecting a particular image to the world around us - when we deny the reality of ourselves and instead choose to believe we are the image we project - we are cut off from ourselves. We lose our ability to love others, to love God, to love ourselves, to be loved, and to truly feel. We lose our sense of identity and of who we are. These are core aspects of what it means to be alive. Apart from the reality of felt experience and the giving, receiving, and sharing of relational love, we live lonely, empty lives. This is because an image is not - and never can be - human.
In light of this, the whole world may give us praises and affirm our false identity, yet "what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?" It is not worth it.
I pray that in meditating on this truth we may be set free,
"For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
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