On the way, to growing up, do we, lose ALL the values that we picked up, or learned as children, or, do they just, alter, based off of our, life experiences??? Translated…
In The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, there was a memorable line: “After you put on the mask, you become, the real you.”
As I’d heard it first, I couldn’t, reacted instantly, but, thinking after it, it sounded, somewhat, true. In the adult world, we all need to put on the masks, and never allowed what we are thinking of, to come out easily, sometimes, it’s for self-preservation, sometimes, it’s fearing that what we feel may hurt others, the mask here, is metaphorical, it’s the “social roles” we play in life. But, Noland explained this from an alternative angle, showing that relationship between oneself and the society; after you put on the mask, nobody knows who you are, so no matter if you’d done a good deed, or a bad one, nobody will know it’s you who’d, done it, I’m guessing that this would be why as people go and rob a bank, they wear those masks—hmmmm, such, a pointless thing for me to say!
Back on topic, what I wanted to know is, can we all live “comfortable” under other people’s microscopes? When nobody else is watching, would we still, behave the same way, as if, they were, still there?
I’d recalled a story. It was in my first, or second grade year, on a certain afternoon, I was, playing with the kids at the lot, I’d found a five-dollar coin on the ground; although five-dollars isn’t a big deal, but, the five dollars from thirty years ago can get me a delicious bun. And during that particular week, there was a student who was commended for returning the money he’d found, I believe I should be a role model for the other children I was playing with, and suggested that we take the money to the police station, and the other kids excited agreed, and accompanied me with the five-dollar coin I’d found, to the police station.
It was the very first time I’d, entered into the police station, I was nervous, my voice sounded shaking, “Police man, we’d found some money!”
The officer smiled at us, “You’re very good children, you should take the five-dollars back to your parents then!”
As I walked out of the station, I’d felt, a bit, disappointed, thinking to myself, “was that all?”, I had my heart set on returning the money to the owner, to gain the recommendations; and, we have different parents, whose parents should we give this five-dollars to?………I’d forgotten, how we’d, handled the five-dollars.
I’d once asked myself, if there weren’t any children as I found the money, will I still, take it to the police station? In the process of the other kids and I, taking the money to the station, was it because I wanted to turn the money in, or, because I chose, to take up that role of an elementary school student who’d not claimed anything that wasn’t his to begin with?
Many years later in high school, I’d read a sentence for an ancient Chinese text, which meant: those with high morale, when on one’s own, need to be even more alert, shouldn’t do anything that damages the morale, just because nobody else is watching. I feel how the Confucians used the term “carefully” is quite interesting, stated clearly, that when we’re alone by ourselves, we are, more easily, tempted, so we’d, needed more self-control at that time. But from an alternative angle, can we, seek out another sort of internal equilibrium, to learn to be the same, inside AND out, to live comfortably, while other people are, examining us.
Several years ago, I was about to ride my motorcycle with my friend, who lived close to me back to Muzha, as I started the motorcycle, I’d found that the wind carried a bill to me, about over a thousand dollars. I’d, instinctively, picked it up, looked at my friend, smiled, “finders keeper, let’s split it!”, my friend felt embarrassed at my offer, but felt it was, weird and funny, and in the end, he’d, taken half of what I found.
I think, perhaps, I don’t have that good a character, but this time, I’d felt, more than, comfortable.
And so, this showed, the importance, of answering to nobody ELSE but oneself, forget about how anybody or everybody ELSE perceived you as, if you keep on, pursuing that perfect image of who you ought to be inside someone else’s mind, you’d end up, lost, and that’s no good, and the second time, the man didn’t turn the money in to the station, perhaps, it’s because back when he was little, his expectations of getting the acknowledgement went bust, or that it’s because, he’d weathered through some of life, to know that finders keepers sometimes, should outweigh morality!