Transparency removes the weight

At your next people gathering, be it a party, a conference, a class, when you meet someone for the first time, you will naturally review the highlights of who you are. My title, where I am from, the company I work for, who I am married to, how many kids I have, those type of personal, life facts.

The inner goal is to build some type of equity, define yourself, maybe let the other person see the glory of you. After all, introducing with the negative traits or background doesn’t exactly make one magnetic.

Those brief facts do the job and make the desired impression. But, opening with the list of shallow descriptors also doesn’t tell another who you are.

Those shallow descriptors are a mask forged in steel. Rarely does that mask come off, as it is too risky. What would others think? The call of transparency plays well in public, but rarely does reality step out from behind the mask. So, we all walk around with these masks on all day never known for who we really are.

Behind the mask lives reality, who you are, where you have been, and we all have that part that is not as pretty to present in public. Those traits or parts of the journey we would just as soon leave covered up. Maybe we are ashamed, maybe there is hurt, maybe you would just rather pretend it never happened.

But, the truth is that is you. It is a personal thread woven into your fabric. And, keeping it hidden, behind a locked door, is a weight, a burden that you force yourself to carry.

Remove the mask, remove the weight. Transparency removes the weight. 

I was at a meeting yesterday, and, as we were learning each other’s story, the person removed his mask. He had probably talked through it many times, but, for me, it was a blessing to experience. His transparency was his freedom. He was redeemed and wanted to share it.

The transparent personal story of his valley impacted me. I was moved by the grace of God and the grace of a person to himself. I walked away with a bounce in my step, as I considered the goodness of God. My faith grew, and I now look at the once stranger with admiration. The bravery, honesty, and deliberate removal of his mask made an impact. It really isn’t the valley itself but the fact that he used what was broken for good.

We all have that bottled up in us, that broken piece of our story that we leave hidden behind the mask. But, this is the exact thing that will impact others the most. This is the precious gift of the valley to be freely given.

The bad decisions issues on the journey. The career failures. The marriage struggle that you walked through. The battle with your health. The imperfect family issues that caused anguish. The mental game that haunted you. The imposter syndrome that you walked with.

Each of us have so much behind the mask that we keep locked away that could change someone’s life. Others are walking through the same thing that you experienced, and they need to hear your story.

Transparency is a gift that you can freely give to others.

But, the greatest gift of transparency is for the one that is sharing. The weight is miraculously removed by the willingness to be transparent.

Impact others. Live generously.