Oh, my goodness. I have not written since July 19th! I apologize for the delay. I was out-of-town at my 40th high school reunion and have been debriefing since my return late on the 27th. Going back to my reunion reminded me of how closed I was in earlier days, how I was not honest with others about who I was inside, how I didn’t even KNOW who I was. This thought leads me into today’s topic from the book, which is about being honest with others about who you are.
The verse in the book that goes with this image talks about looking inside to see who one is, then deciding to honestly show others what is found. When doing a self-appraisal, however, perhaps we dwell on the negative and are not able to identify our positive points. We are linked to a negative perception of ourselves.
When we can identify the delightful things about ourselves that make us the unique contribution to the fabric of our world that we are, can we then let people see that side of us, see our strengths and skills, our joys and sorrows? Identifying these things about ourselves may be difficult for some; yet, we each have positive and delightful traits and characteristics, we each slide along the continuum of feelings.
Perhaps, once in touch with who we are, we can share such things as joy, gratitude, sorrow, and despair. There is a closeness with others when one begins to share of themself in this way. The others, in turn, reveal more of themselves and these people connect on a deeper level.
It is important to trust the persons to whom we open up. It would be easier to convey the exhilarating emotions than the grieving ones. Yet, when we act beyond our fear of exposing ourselves and our truths, beyond the fear of being vulnerable, we experience that closeness with others. It generates more joy and more gratitude, as well as more love , kindness, tolerance, and respect.
This is not to say that all persons are trustworthy of our revealings. One must discern that another is safe to talk with. It would not be advisable, for example, to share with one who treats our thoughts and feelings with disregard and abuse, as that wounds our soul.
Do you experience this type of honesty with others? What is that like for you?
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As the author and photographer of her book of wrought-iron gates and accompanying prose, it is said by others that Carolyn CJ Jones’ book offers hope to the soul in the corner who struggles. Perhaps there is a bit of a struggling soul in each of us. Perhaps we each could benefit from the journey she shares. View the additional information about the book to the right of this blog. Buy the book from her website and receive free shipping.
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Thank you, Sheila! I am so glad you like the style of the site. Are you referring to the new one, the one that has the pages listed along the left side, or when the pages were along the top of the site? I hope you like the new one..
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Thank you so much for your comment, George. I’m so glad you enjoyed reading the type of blog I am writing. I don’t seem to be able to do differently… lol
I think we are displaying discernment about others, which is a form of judgment. Someone recently poiinted that out to me. I had to realize I am talking about being negatively judged, as you talk about above. So true that trusting another has to be built over time, and we share more the more comfortable we are with them. I like your attitude of forgiveness. Very nice.
I’ve learned not to judge people because we all have our warts. I also learned if people judge me in a negative way, there really isn’t anything I can do about and so I do not ponder about it. Of course not judging people is not the same as trusting someone. You do have build a relationship to have closeness and trust. It depends where I am in the relationship how much I am willing to reveal. No one likes to be treated with disregard or abuse. Even if I do end a relationship for these reasons, I forgive the person because it’s the right thing to do. I just never tell them. I typically don’t find posts of this nature in my daily routine. I really enjoyed reading it.
Hi Louise,
Thanks for your comment and your kind words. So, you experience that wonderful feeling that occurs when one shares of themselves with others. That’s great! It is very satisfying, isn’t it? You mentioned you were miserable at times in your life when closed off to others. I was, too, and didn’t realize how much. I’m so glad for you that has changed in your life.
Nice post Carolyn. I have certain people that I can be completely honest with and completely open up about the good things and the bad. Sometimes who those people are quite surprises me but it’s so fulfilling to be able to share one’s inner self with others. I too have been closed off at times in the past and not shared who I am and it’s quite a sad place to be as I was quite miserable at those times so I’m glad I have learnt/am learning to be more comfortable with me, warts and all, and that I am able to be more ‘me’ these days.