Being misread online by strangers stings, but it doesn’t change the you that people offline actually know.
STILLNESS
WHAT THIS MEANS
A stranger’s reading of you is built from a sentence or a photograph, which is nowhere near enough material to describe a person. It stings because the misreading is public and you cannot properly answer it, but it has no reach into the places where you are actually known: practice, work, an ordinary Wednesday. Two versions of you exist, and only one of them is based on evidence.
When it happens, name out loud who really knows you and what they would say. Then put the phone down and go be near one of them. The offline version survives without being defended.
A QUESTION TO SIT WITH
Who offline knows you well enough to correct the online version?
MORE IN SOLITUDE & SELF-KNOWLEDGE
- Your daydreams aren’t a waste of time. They’re a rough sketch of what you want. Look at them more closely.
- The first month living alone shows you which habits were yours and which were just your family’s.
- Staying busy every second can be a way to avoid hearing yourself. Leave one empty hour and see what shows up.
Free, with nothing to buy inside it.