Today’s technology, for all of its magic, has a distinct down-side – providing infinite forums to help create the illusion of safety, we believe we have full freedom to convey our own true self without censorship, completely unhampered by others’ judgments which may block self-expression.
But REALITY provides a whole different experience. Coming face-to-face, eye-to-eye with each other has the potential to strip us of our facade. 
How brave will you be, to see yourself reflected in the eyes of another, feeling truth come pouring out, whether you utter a single word?
The infamous saying: “To Thine Own Self Be True” takes practice. It isn’t something that we are ‘taught’ or encouraged to do growing up. Instead we are conditioned ‘to go along to get along’, with layers of guilt and shame like icing on a cake to keep the peace.
Most of the time we forge secret alliances or unspoken agreements — mistaking this for intimacy. Agreement means safety, safety means suffocation, there goes freedom.
Finding others who have a shared awareness vs. a shared agreement is possible. People are fundamentally unique (but not necessarily separate), so it is absolutely impossible to expect identical ‘thinking, perceiving, etc.’ Relish the differences.
Explore common ground, don’t demand it, because it is our uniqueness that challenges us to grow. Others help provide the edges that enable us to experience and come to know ourselves – at core — for who we are.