Brian Weiner

The biggest suspense of life is that you don’t know who is praying for you and who is playing with you. 

Are you a good judge of people?

What makes you so certain of that?

How many people have crossed your path who have deceived you into believing something that was not true?

Did that impact the prospective you had in your approach to meeting others?

We are incredibly adept at sizing up another person in the first few minutes of meeting them. The perspective that they forecast, the demeanor with which they carry themselves, the repertoire that they establish, are all indicators of what you are truly encountering.

But many times, these are camouflage for a deeper being with less than fully admirable qualities.

In those kinds of relationships, we are loathe to discover that we have been deceived and that much of what we are perceiving as positive virtues, are actually a ruse in order that they may find an advantage to our relationship that they may opt to exploit at their will.

In many circumstances, having been deceived by someone tremendously capable in the art of deception, we awaken to the core disappointment that all that we had projected upon that relationship was hollow and unsubstantial, leaving us with far less desire to trust the next party who happens upon us.

But is that the best way to live?

Once bitten, twice shy is a great perspective, but the degree to which the newfound shyness takes control of us is a variable that must be mitigated by instinct, intuition and a greater diligence in learning about the party with whom we are dealing.

It is possible that you may be encountering someone who is thrice bitten and far less likely to trust anyone. That kind of a mindset may project a continuous stream of nonverbal communication that is off-putting and highly distancing. Whereas their true personality is genuine and means nothing but positive values coming towards us.

Conversely, you may also encounter someone who is so polished and slick that they can charm their way into any relationship, friendship, or business deal, and then, at the appropriate moment, change their colors entirely and reveal a much more disturbing side of their personality, with venom poised to strike in our direction.

Life gives us ample opportunity to sort through the myriad personalities with whom we encounter, each providing yet another clue in our lifetime tapestry of solving today’s quandary. 

Given that deception brings tremendous wealth and prosperity to those whose moral values do not necessarily match those of our own, learning how to ask the right questions, do the right homework and watch for the unseen telltale details, could not be more important.

Happy Tuesday!