Transparency

I've been learning recently what it means to be authentic with others. It's been a challenging lesson so far.

Why is it that people fear authenticity with others?

There are many reasons as to why people keep from showing their true emotion. The fear of rejection, fears of being vulnerable and hurt, the fear of admitting one is not as put together as others might think. These are all fears which I have.

I've been very good at pretending that I've had things well put together my whole life. Very few people have seen past that and know without a doubt that I am not as put together as I claim I am.



I've learned,rather painfully, what happens to a person who is not truly authentic with others.

I recently learned what it's like to put aside those fears and just allow others to see directly into my heart.


I'm not saying that you should unload all your deepest and darkest secrets to a person you just barely met. For me it was a group of people whom I already knew cared about me. The security and trust was already built. Keeping things bottled up inside allows things to brew and expand so that it's nearly impossible not to explode at one point. Opening up to others doesn't mean that things are better, but now I have the support of close friends who can come alongside me and be there when I need it the most.

Despite the fears I had, none of them were realized. I was accepted, encouraged and shown much love by those whom I opened up to.

It's nice to know that there are those who care so much about me that they won't leave me where I am at.