Very insightful.
I really understood this...my mother was a perfect example. We were the "perfect family". At church we all had clean faces and perfectly pressed clothes. We all sat in a row, Mom, Dad, boy, girl, boy, girl. Who would have guessed at how disfunctional our "real" life was? And on the days wehn we could pull it off to her satisfaction, suddenly, she was ill and couldn't go to church because that might "give away" the truth.
Here is the opposite person...I have a friend Ginger who lives her life the way she feels she needs to live it. She does not pander to popular opinion and she does not hide or advertise her shortcomings. she knows that anything that one person knows, everyone might one day know. Therefore, she is at ease with the world knowing BEFORE even one persone knows. It's a mindset. So when one person teased her in front of an entire room of women at church about the swearing habit she had to break years ago, she was initially embarassed, but reminded herself that that tibit of "juicy gosip" lets other people know that she has not been, nor ever will be perfect in this life and they shouldn't feel that she is. There are a ot of things that backfire on her, she is the President of the Relief Society and someone is ALWAYS critisizing her behavior or decisions. But she has learned that while it can be hard to face, human nature won't change, so she has worked on changing her point of view.....
I'd think that would be healthier than trying to act perfect....and knowing you can't keep the facade up forever. It's a losing battle from day one.
