perceptions may not be reality

on the karma post... sahana left me a comment saying she liked the post coz it was different from the usual & kind of said that i think too. suruchi said she couldn't take the articulate thinking from me! :D
i found both comments really honest and very cute.
they also reminded me of how i've always been perceived as rather daftish coz i seem to take my life very lightly. i don't get too worked up by minor irritants. i appear to be unfazed my major issues. i don't let anybody else ruin my day for me. i live in my own world. i smile endlessly. and well, on first glance, i do come across as very superficial or fake. coz nobody can be happy all the time.

but it's not like that. it's just that i am actually very reserved. despite this blog, despite that grin on my face. despite the fact that i smile when i want to cry at times. laughter is my defense. and so far, it works for me.
i do get affected by things. and when i'm genuinely affected, i don't rave and rant or talk. i retreat into my own comfort zone. lick my wounds. gather my thoughts. and re-appear when i can smile.

a friend of mine in post grad had once asked me if it doesn't bother me that people think i'm daft when i'm not. my answer to him still remains the same. why should someone else's perception of me bother me? why should i need to prove to someone that i can think? i don't need to. and i won't. i'm happy. in the fact that my inner circle of friends knows me for who i am. people who wish to know me get to know me. if i like them, they get to know me real well also. and maybe, they can someday, even call me a friend. but till then.. i don't care what they think of me. what does it say about a person if that person lives his/her life only so others can like him/her? i'd seriously rather not live than live like that. to please others.

yes, i've also been perceived to have a 'holier-than-thou' attitude. but i don't. it's just that i genuinely don't care what u think of me. i am indifferent to general opinions. i don't think that makes me better than u. maybe i am, maybe i'm not. but i am not affected by what someone who doesn't know me thinks about me. i AM affected if i care about the person writing me off. i'm human that way!

how often do we judge people by what we perceive them as rather than what they really are? how often have we seen someone laugh it off and said "must be daft to laugh in a time like that". or how often have we seen a single woman around 30 and thought "why's she single? must be some problem with her?" well, maybe that person has far more mettle than we know of. maybe they're way better than what we give them credit for. maybe there are problems beyond your understanding. maybe she doesn't want to get married! why should u care? it's okay to have opinions. but we also need to be open to the fact that our opinion may be incorrect. why write off or adore people till u know them well? and if u don't want to know them, it's okay. just try not to judge.

p.s.: edited to add: i'm not saying i'm not daft! :D