phoney

I recently read Salinger's 'Catcher in the rye',was spell bound.The one word from that book that stuck me was 'phoney' ...and I see that 'phoney ness' all around me ...'put ons' ....becoming or trying to become what they are not ....a malaise whose roots are so deep that the 'actors' are lost...so engrossed in their make belief parts that they forget the very purpose of their acting!!
It is so refreshing to meet that rare soul which is truly an original, one of its kind , comfortable in the body that it is residing, free to think and express itself, not looking for approval.
Are we even aware of what 'conditioning' does to us?the influence of our parents, teachers, peer group, siblings, media ..the list is endless.What we call the 'I' or 'me' is infact an outcome/product of all of the above.
We can make a start , slowly peeling the layers of the onion, painful, ardous process till we reach the core ...the 'Who am I?'and then we can start the next step...'Who do I want to be?'