Transparent Apprehension

Suppose that for one day you had to answer truthfully any question that anyone asked you. Up the stakes and say that the person giving you the third degree is  younger than you, a subordinate like an employee, a player on your team, student or even your own child. Now consider the line of questioning. “Have you ever cheated on a girlfriend/boyfriend? When did you lose your virginity? Do you harbor hate that could cause you to harm someone?” Truth be told, aren’t  we afraid to answer the questions because of what people would think of our answers?

The bravest thing I’ve ever done (and the list is short) is to abandon the fear of being transparent. By mistake I’ve earned people’s trust by telling them anything they want to know. I don’t think it’s my answers to questions that have  mattered as much as the fact that I’ve been willing to abandon my right to preserving a false self. I’m sure I’m just as superficial as anyone but seriously, there’s a currency that spends more readily than any I’ve ever used to buy tangible goods. And it is Transparency.

There’s a prim and proper etiquette that we mind in this world and none of my hypotheses on this are scientific. Do they need to be? How different can I really be from most people. I have a past riddled with skirmishes that pitted me against pretense. Pretense almost always won but when a kid or someone you mentor feels free to ask you questions, you can best believe they are actively listening now. They’re provoked by your honesty to participate in meaningful discussion – the kind that leads to people inspecting their own lives. Critics of this line of thinking say, “Show and don’t tell your story. There is such a thing as too much information (TMI).” I say tell the show of your story as real as you can as honestly as you can and your reputation will never need another a pretentious face lift.