Transparency
Transparency
From the Transparent Self by Sidney M. Jourard
Self-disclosure, however, requires
courage. Not solely the courage SELF-DISCLOSURE AND THE MYSTERIOUS
OTHER 7 to be, as Paul Tillich wrote of it, but the courage to be
known, to be perceived by others as one knows himself to be. We can
paraphrase the Delphic oracle who advised, "Know thyself,"
and declare, "Make thyself known, and thou shalt then know
thyself." Finally, we can restate Polonius' advice to his son, "
... And this above all-to any other man be true, and thou canst not
then be false to thyself."
Loving is scary, because when you permit yourself to be known, you expose yourself not only to a lover's balm, but also to a hater's bombs! 'When he knows you, he knows just where to plant them for maximum effect.
The act of writing bears something in
common with the act of love. The writer, at his most productive
moments, just flows. He gives of that which is uniquely himself. He
makes himself naked, recording his nakedness in the written word.
Herein lies some of the terror which frequently
freezes a writer, preventing him from producing. Herein, too, lies
some of the courage that must be entailed in letting others learn how
one has experienced or is experiencing the world.
There is a lack of courage to
acknowledge some flaw or foible to self and others. The consequence
seems to be that, in seeking to block off the flaw, a person blocks
off, as well, his creative or his loving flow.
An Invitation to authenticity. This
entire book can be regarded as an invitation to "authentic
being." Authentic being means being oneself, honestly, in one's
relations with his fellows. It means taking the first step at
dropping pretense, defenses, and duplicity. It means an end to
"playing it cool," an end to using one's behavior as a
gambit designed to disarm the other fellow, to get him to reveal
himself before you disclose yourself to him. This invitation is
fraught with risk, indeed, it may inspire terror in some. Yet, the
hypothesis of the book is to the effect that, while simple honesty
with others ( and thus to oneself) may produce scars, it is likely to
be an effective preventive of both mental illness and certain kinds
of physical sickness. Honesty can literally be a health insurance
policy.
http://www.sidneyjourard.com/TRANSPARENTSELFFINAL.PDF
...
It is difficult to be transparent in this world when people are quick to be vilified. Case in point, Shirley Sherrod was incorrectly fired for being transparent.
On July 19, 2010, Shirley Sherrod was fired from her appointed position as Georgia State Director of Rural Development for the United States Department of Agriculture.[1][2] Her firing was an administration reaction to media reports on video excerpts from her address to an event of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in March 2010 and commentary posted by conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart on his website.[3] Based on these excerpts, the NAACP condemned Sherrod's remarks as racist and US government officials called on the official to resign. However, review of her full speech showed that the excerpts had been selectively edited, and that her remarks – understood in context – were about the importance of overcoming personal prejudices. The NAACP and White House officials then apologized for their earlier criticisms, and United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack apologized for the firing and offered Sherrod a new position.
How hard, how bitter it is to become a man!
Albert Camus
Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment.
Lao Tzu
Be as transparent as you can be.
Be as transparent as you can be.