Thoughts on Transparency

Transparency: (Noun) The quality of being clear and transparent.

Yes, Dictionary.com is a wealth of information but can, at times, be quite unclear. There are many types of transparency to which I have been a witness. There are the classic transparencies which I will forever remember my fathers multitude of sermons being either typed or written upon. There are transparent films and glasses and foam and even aluminum but those are not what I am referring to here. My thoughts right now are on transparency of character.

Transparency of character is one of my goals in life. To be transparent in character simply means to be truthful. My father taught me to tell the truth but only in my middle years have a really come to realize the value of truth, especially as it applies to character.

To be true of character is to be without deceit when projecting ones character. My experience is that deceiving your self easily leads to deceiving others. If you are not truthful to yourself then how can you be truthful to others? Truth is at the core of my goal here and not the truth of ones opinion but the truth of ones objective decision.

So what am I saying about transparency of character? If you are lying to yourself then you cannot be truthful to others. The only way to insure you are not deceiving yourself is to objectively consider a given situation before making a decision. In doing so you open your mind to all possible outcomes and choose the path that most fits your truth. Your truth is what defines your character. Your character should be reflected in your actions as a result of those truthful decisions.

Simply put, I want people to see who I am and not just who I want them to see or who they want to see.

TL Owens