tO Be Or NoT tO bE...

I have been wondering what it takes to be yourself... a few disapproving glances, a few shushed whispers and probably risking a few out aloud too. But if that is all that is at stake why are we so often overshadowed by the need for accepatance, the need for approval..from our parents, friends, partners and so on.. some seek acceptance of a much larger group, whilst others choose to be satisfied with smaller groups. However this need for acceptance exists in all..or maybe i'll say in those i have observed, so as to avoid making a very strongly opinionated statement. I think this to a large extent could be attributed to the way one is brought up, the environment and the general mindset of the people he/she has grown up with.I mean, for most of us, being one among the others has been fine tumed into our systems. So very often i remember my mother saying, ' but she did this...'...but is taht enough reason for me to do the same thing too? What scares me is that sometimes this need for being accepted amongst the others becomes so strong that it somehow blocks our vision to such a large extent that we shy away from standing up for what we stand by.Sometimes the pretence become so strong and prolonged that after a while it become difficult to distinguish the 'you' from the 'pretence'.While so many other times, it creates a defence mechanism in people where they shun the crowd, pre-emptively because thats the only way they can avoid the hurt of being shunned. That again is pretence, if i can say so, however this one directed more towards self-preservation and survival(of the fittest).How often has it happned that before raising your hand in confirmation of something, you have looked around to first check how many other hands are up. We humans have a natural tendency of complicaating relations. It would have been so much easier if we just let another person be. That doesnt mean we conform to their views forgoing our own, but all the same can we not accept the perso for who he/she is.We so often try to change our partner's or our friend's behaviour, though we always knew who they were.We so often want to love a person for who he/she could be, though we fell in love with who he/she was.Every person is entitled to their views, to their own lives in the exact way they would like it to be. If someone tried telling me what i should do, n how i should live my life i would tell them what to do with their 'piece' of advice, then i wonder why would i want to impose my way? Each one of us has the right to like/dislike things/people around us. then why this need for political correctness? Again this question brings me back to my original question of the need for acceptance.But again, does the ability to look yourself in the eye and smile, not mean more than anything in the world ?