Please See Through Me

"My obligation is this:
To be transparent."

--Pablo Neruda

By the mere fact that we are here, we are meant to be. We are not, however, meant to be anything in particular. Our destiny is not written. Our path, our career, our life, is not predetermined. The only thing that we are meant to be is ourself. And the only obligation that goes with being ourself is that we be it openly, completely, transparently.

A friend said to me a couple of days ago, "In that blog you write on wisdom, you say some pretty stupid stuff." I didn't want to get all defensive and point out to her that the wisdom is in the quotes, not necessarily in my commentary on them, so I said, "Like what?" "You know," she said, "politically incorrect stuff and stuff guaranteed to piss people off."

Damn, cursed by transparency again! My writing simply reflects who I am, including all my contradictions, idiosyncrasies, and peculiarities. I'm not intentionally trying to piss anyone off, but I do acknowledge that political correctness is definitely not my strong suit.

Too often we try to be who, or what, we think we should be. We attempt to project an image, live up to an ideal, or follow a role model. I'm too old for all that nonsense! Here's who I am -- warts, freckles, old age spots, and all. Of course I like it when you like me, but that's hardly the point of either writing or being alive.

Transparency is simply honesty of Being. If I am totally transparent, you not only see me for who I am, you see through me, beyond me, to something greater, something deeper. If I am totally transparent, I become a window into the Divine.

All this through and beyond talk may be way more than Neruda had in mind. But it is indeed the final stop on the transparency train, if you care to go that far. So, just for today, relax and be yourself. Let people see the real you. Don't worry too much about whether they like what they see -- that's their business. Your business is simply to be the multi-faceted diamond that is you.