Understanding ...

 I put a bigger warmer coat over my hooded jacket before venturing out into twenty-three degree winter weather.   Two neighbors were at the mailbox area when I approached ... One man, suitably covered with bulky clothes, appeared shocked as the other man - proudly clad in only a short-sleeve summer shirt - flexed his muscles and boasted, "Aw, hell, it ain't cold!" before leisurely collecting his mail and strolling off down the street. 

Why did this fellow feel such need to prove himself superior to others?   

He needs attention.

And he's willing to go to great lengths to get it.     

Daily, hourly, constantly, he grabs every smallest opportunity to imply - in an off-hand manner, of course - that he's ever so much greater than the average man. 
 
He has never allowed himself to know that people are laughing behind his back.   He couldn't bear to face that truth.  It would destroy him.

Why did he feel compelled to flaunt his toughness at the mailbox today by exposing his bare arms to the freezing air? 

The answer is simple:   Each time - in small ways or large - he can make another person feel inferior, he has the illusion of his own low self-esteen being elevated to a higher position.

His ego is dependent on this false illusion.   

He can't survive without it.   


  

all comments welcome.
Contact:  MelindaGerner@yahoo.com