Truth With Kindness

Day 38: Truth With Kindness

“Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.” – Maggie Smith

I am not sure why it is so difficult to speak the truth, to say what we want and need to say. To simply say the truth. I think it is because as children we receive so many conflicting messages and we witness and experience half truths.

As a young girl, I have very distinctive memories of being told that I was tactless every time I spoke the truth. Being a child can be very confusing. On the one hand I was being told from my teachers, religious leaders and parents, to always tell the truth and never to lie. However, when I looked around, I saw most adults not telling the truth or telling half truths. I also remember being told that it was not always kind to tell the truth, so in that case lie, but do not lie because lying is bad. This was crazy making and so confusing.

How can we speak our truth, tell the truth, live in truth and still be kind? I have to believe that speaking the truth really does set one free and is ultimately the kindest thing we can do for ourselves. It may not always be received well or feel kind to others. However, if we cannot speak and live our personal truths, how can we live a life of happiness, joy, peace, love and kindness?

1. Kindness to Self:

   Once we can accept, feel and speak our truth, we will be able to love ourselves unconditionally. And by living and speaking our truth we will then create the truth that our hearts and souls deserve.

2. Kindness to Others:

   Speaking our truth certainly has the ability to hurt others, however the alternative is telling a lie which will hurt everyone involved. I am certain there is an art to speaking our minds and truths with kindness. I believe it begins with honoring the truth over anything else. It is not easy, it can feel awkward and embarrassing to speak our mind. However, if we establish our relationships based on truth from the beginning, we will not have to work so hard at lying, manipulating, creating half truths, avoiding and then trying to repair them later.

3. Kindness to Strangers:

   Speaking our minds with strangers may not being something we give much thought to, however, it can be as simple as understanding that what we put out to the world is we get back.  It is about having the awareness to slow down, make eye contact and speak kindly to the unfamiliar people we come into contact with each day. If we speak and live our truth from within and with those people that we love, we will be able to spread truth, love and kindness.

4. Kindness to Our Planet:

   Facing the truth and living in reality, is not always preferred, especially when our world and society offer so much convenience and distraction. Learn to seek out the truth. Our planet is currently in distress. What can we do to ensure that we have a clean food supply, clean water supply and clean air supply?

Jennifer Palazzo

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