The Transparent Life (EJC 43-2)

There is a cost to living a life of transparency. Not everyone can do it and most people don't want to. The freedom that is afforded to others when you live a transparent life cannot be measured. The impact reaches far beyond what can be seen, heard or felt; it reverberates up and down threads of relationships you are unaware of. It's unearthly sound rings in the corridors of heaven, stopping Angels and heavenly beings in their tracks to listen. It is like the awe inspiring sometimes fearful sound of waves breaking against a rocky shore. Those waves pound and pound and over time the rock gives way, becomes smooth and is reformed.

Living a life of transparency is a choice. Well for most of us it is; if your connected to Hollywood or the music industry to some degree the choice will probably be made for you. As I said before not everyone can do it and most folks do not want to. Sharing the truth of who you are can be scary business especially if you are more invested in presenting a perfect life and particular lifestyle than creating long lasting, honoring relationships built on trust and integrity. When your focus is being in control, knowing all the answers and having it all together there is no room for transparency.

Does it matter?

Well I think history shows us that it does. I could talk about great names but why don't you just take a moment to think about your own history and the people who fill it. Who are the individuals you had the most respect for? I am sure the answer is the ones whose lives where congruent with the words that they spoke. It is an inevitable result of how our humanness works. Ultimately we have the most respect for those who live out what they believe and stand for the truth that guides their lives; even when their truth goes against the grain. We may not agree with it, we may think they are loony or just plain ignorant but at the end of the day we know who we are dealing with. That makes all the difference in the world.

Transparency lends our lives to the purview and examination of others. The intentional choice to live that type of life is not made lightly. It has its risks and challenges and will require a commitment to something and someone more important than your title, position, public personae and life style. Transparency is a call for integrity. It is a call that when answered will compel you to examine your thoughts, actions and beliefs before they are ever revealed to others. The call for transparency demands an answer for selfish decisions and deceitful manipulations. Intentional self analysis is painful and can be frightening. Let's be real; no one wants to be masochist. The thought of self inflicted pain is absurd under the best circumstances. Let us also be aware of the results when the call for self analysis is resisted or denied. The consequences of operating in a state of willful resistance to self truth destroys relationships and erodes trust.

The kind of integrity derived from a life of transparency is life changing. The call to transparency requires an unabashed detailed evaluation of all the junk in your life that creates internal and external havoc for you and others. The call cries out for retribution and change. The answer to that call will bring you to emotional and spiritual places you did not know existed. The answer will drag you from your self imposed pedestal of pride and arrogance to a place of humility and repentance. When you decide to answer the call to transparency then you can answer the call to living a life of integrity. When you intentionally live a transparent life integrity is pushed to the surface even when it does not want to be. Once again, not everyone can do this and most people don't want to.

Transparency is not a call to share every detail of your life or each mistake that you make. It is a call to acknowledge your shortcomings and faults, acknowledge your lack of understanding and wisdom, acknowledge your fear and anger, acknowledge your shame and guilt, acknowledge the truth that begs to be hidden under sheets, beneath pillows, between books, within cracks and crevices and shoved into dark, almost forgotten places. The acknowledgement of these things allows the light of unashamed truth to be shed broadly across the landscape of hidden and often unacknowledged pain and emotional bondage. Keep in mind that acknowledgement is only the first step.

Integrity can only be lived out when there is a deliberate decision to walk in the type of accountability designed to bring about significant change. Integrity propels us from a stance of what may be profound acknowledgement to concrete actions focused on redemption. I'm referring to the redemption of self, relationships, families, neighborhoods, communities, cities and towns and our country. This kind of integrity keeps you in a continual place of self awareness aimed at connecting your hidden issues with your external living. The reason why you make certain decisions and your ability to justify those decisions are all connected to what is hidden in you. The issues themselves may not be resolved but this type of integrity expects movement past acknowledgement towards some level of healing and restoration.

Webster defines integrity as honor and uprightness. It also defines integrity as completeness. To me this is profound. A life of transparency that boldly acknowledges the truth within you and how that truth impacts you and those in your sphere of influence allows you to walk in honor and uprightness. It also fills you with a deep sense of contentment because there is nothing left to hide. That type of freedom brings emotional healing and acceptance of self. These two things combined bring a completeness that cannot be easily shaken by outside forces. Most if not all of us want to be complete. Unfortunately, up to 95% of what we watch on television, listen to on the radio or surf on the web is content crafted to ensure the emotional demise of ourselves and those we are connected to.

Until next time, think of this: Every decision you make changes the life of someone. If you count how many people are in your direct sphere of influence and how many are connected to them and so on, you bear the responsibility of many more lives than you care to admit. Like it or not you do not live in a silo. You were born to be in relationship with others. Every single decision you make changes the life of someone else.

God speaks to the one who listens,

K. Joy Williams-Eckwood
expressionsofjoy copyright 4/2010