Awkward Greetings And Feigned Delight

We are a species that carries around with us an extra beefy mask of a pseudo self. It is heavy, causes excessive fatigue, but we'd never dare to drop it. It is essentially our ticket into the society, and being social animals, we are expected to wear it quite often, like an identity card. You have got to admit that you’ve thought of breaking that mask for the umpteenth time, but it is as unabating and stubborn as a stain of haldi on your favourite shirt.

You meet someone you know from school or from a job you had in the past, shake hands or even hug like you were long lost buddies, and finally proceed to make that dreaded small talk. Definitely awkward for both, and you realize after a minute or two that your cheeks are hurting from the wide smile that is put on display to deceive the other, to show them how delighted you are to see them. This situation was once extremely difficult for someone like me who would undemandingly reach for that dreadful mask, and would be compelled to make small talk with myriads of awkward pauses and repeated questions, followed by replying with numerous ohs and ahs without a hint of pleasure. These situations got me panicky in the past, but now I’m more than ready to bump into an old acquaintance and make it out of the situation triumphantly. My rule - Keep it simple. This will essentially terminate all chances of having a forced conversation. Yes, you can initiate with a warm smile, the kind of smile you have on your face when you hear that favourite jingle from your childhood. If you have no reason to smile, a nod of acknowledgement is enough. People understand.

The above-given example just serves as one example of the many social situations we confront in our day to day life. If you have been allergic to such situations, know that everyone on the face of this planet is a human like you. Everyone has had awkward phases, and everyone has tripped on wires that went unnoticed. Though we crave perfection, nobody has ever achieved it. Not even the mightiest of kings, and for that matter, not even Shawn Mendes. Every human, at some point, feels the need to keep his or her mask aside, even if it’s just for some time.

Feigning delight upsets just as much as it exhausts, and an introvert would find this statement faultless. But if you give it a thought, you don’t have to climb that mountain of sham and you don’t have to go through the pressure that comes along with it. The society has conditioned us to behave in a certain way in a certain situation. These social etiquettes are important, and I shall never deny that. They aid you in unimaginable ways, for example, they help you grow confident and maintain healthy relationships, but if your emotional state at that moment is against behaving in a certain manner, don’t force yourself. Sometimes being unvarnished can be helpful. Though most of these regulations have been made for order, peace and harmony to prevail, some of them end up vitiating your inner peace. In order to prevent that from happening, don’t let it consume too much of your energy, and then finally bear one rule in mind - Keep it simple, stupid!