Maybe I've Watched Too Many Movies . . .

How secretive are we . . .

. . . really?

I wonder.

A bluff may have originated from poker, but it's carried far into the worst lies that separates couples, relationships, families . . .

It's just a secret, right?

No person can claim an emotionless state. And with those inbred emotions comes the truth. It's on your face. It's in your eyes. It's in your trembling lips.

It's no secret that I tend to steal lines from movies. Here's an appropriate one: "We're all less mysterious than we think we are."

Truth?

With deeper relationships comes a greater understanding of people, and what shields them: their emotions. With more observations of one's emotions, the greatest secrets are discovered.

Defense is one's worst strategy to guarding the truth. With defense comes a knowledge that something must be defended, and why defend the truth with "truth" when it is already truth?

But there's also another ingredient within the bowl: persuasion. Or rather, modes of persuasion. Dependent on the relationship, persuasion takes on many forms, some unusual, most usual.

I agree that one should know his opponent well, but I think one should know himself better. It's great to know your enemy's strengths and weaknesses, but it's far better to know your own and study them so your enemy is unable to discover yours.

Your greatest opponent is yourself. But you shouldn't keep that a secret.