This is the best description of how I live that I've ever heard:

"Beneath the formal or official exterior of people or circumstances you are working to penetrate is the softness, depth and vulnerability you crave from human contact. You'd do well to ignore appearances, and let your mind rest in an inner reality, an interior of life, that keys bits of evidence are likely to have revealed is truly living there behind the scenes. The outer garb that certain individuals are adept at projecting may be convincing, but if you sense with your feeling, and stay aware of the expressions in people's eyes as they speak, you will get a different story entirely. And it seems likely that, though much of what is exchanged will be on the intuitive level, words and touch will find their perfect place and time." -Eric Francis

and it reminds me of the story of the Emperor's New Clothes.