Letting The World See You

When you are the same on the inside as what people see on the outside, you are in touch with your personal power. Letting the world see you is letting the world know what you truly believe about your life. What is some challenge you could accept that would make you more visible?

Where are you hesitant about getting more visible?

How much of your life is passing you by because you remain low-key?

Sharon C. Brown, Pat A. Paulson, and Jo Ann Wolf

Living On Purpose                                                                                                                            Cited in Meditations for A New Age

This quote brought to mind a popular concept in social interactions, counseling, and spiritual formation that can be generally known as being a “transparency.” This ideal notion asks us to be clear examples of the values and virtues we say that we aspire to or embody.

 It is to be or to live without regard for any manufactured self-images, and to be free of any manipulations, guile, and deceit; To be free from self-serving motives that would serve to “mask”, hide, or distort a more genuine and truthful picture of who you are as a person.

Consequently, it has become the gold standard for caregivers, clergy, and any other professions where honesty and humility blend into an effective way to present yourself to the world and to live out one’s sense of purpose more wholeheartedly.

A more rugged definition of transparency is “what you see is what you get!’ which can feel arrogant or authentic; because it asks us to be “real” with each other or walk on by… it says that I ask you to accept me, “warts and all” with my imperfections on full display, and still be treated with dignity and respect…

This brings me to the feeling of vulnerability and the willingness to not hide our flaws as we seek to amend them… It is not a lazy approach that says “I cannot change, or I do not want to change” especially if there is a moral or ethical necessity facing you squarely or a dysfunctional patterns of living that needs correction… That is where such defensiveness has no place, and humility and perseverance are to be honored by being a person whose changes would give them more opportunity to live out their lives fully, with both courage and compassion.

Brene Brown and others have spoken widely about the virtue of vulnerability, and I tend to agree. While there is a serious consideration for self-protection when dealing with a virulent form of narcissism, choosing to be honest and open, considerate and caring is the more compassionate and courageous way. Being willing to engage your heart in the relational give and take of life seems far more admirable and more aspirational than any self fulling motive or short term gain….