que pasa

Had some free time today, so I decided to go check out the Forbidden City. As it was already late afternoon, I was not sure how much I could explore. I only made it in halfway but when I left the palace, my head was fully loaded. Here is part one.

I suppose all palaces are huge. But technically, that does not impress until you see it with your own eyes. The Forbidden City like an enormous onion - it has many "layers" of skin before you reach the core. Each layer in the Forbidden City has activity in it: souvenir shops, drink stations, photo-taking (you can dress up in imperial clothes), military training, guided tours, museums and so on. I imagine some people getting so pre-occupied at the outer layers that they do not make it or have little time to spend at the core. But back in the day, the right to pass through to the next level was probably progressively restricted, as evidenced as the gradual narrowing of the gates of each layer. So the layers of city double up as protection and filters.

This reminds me of a scene in the movie, Shrek. He said to Donkey something along the lines of how he (Shrek) was like an onion and you had to peel the "layers" off him before people knew who he really was, and discover that he was a nice guy (not the ogre that people judged him to be).

I think that is true in real life. Beyond the fact there are friends who are content to "linger in the outer courts", and that there are those whom we would rather maintain a certain distance, I think we sometimes hide our core from ourselves. We create layers to our soul and we do not want to reveal our true selves unnecessarily. Because it hurts too much to be known, so we build barriers to protect ourselves and others. Because if we were to really draw back the curtains, we might not like what we see. Because we are vulnerable when someone calls us for what we really are. Hence the progressive selection of whom we do open our heart to.

I am not advocating tell-all sessions - we need to be selective because careless people can break our fragile hearts. But we should be aware that it is hard to expect people (even those close to us) to really understand us without our help, and that we need to take greater steps to get to the "essence" of the person. (This is where I insert my apologies for poor pseudonyms: these are really my impressions, not the "essence", of the person.)

Then one day, someone comes along and you find yourself when you are with that person. And you realize that you miss him (or her) when he (or she) is not around. Then you realize this is the one you have that wonderful connection with - one to whom you can reveal your core. I wish this someone for you.