We felt pathetic.

Trading stories, a roommate and I, commiserating about a topic that's irrelevant to this story. But we felt that way, nonetheless.

The stories were wrenching, for us, emotionally. And, we feel that way about other things too - I think we find ourselves in this predicament of feeling pathetic, precisely because we're willing to take risks in social and emotional matters. In essence, we feel pathetic, because we take on tough cookies and struggle.

I don't write this to garner some sort of pity party, by the way.

Rather, the point of me writing this is to say that I don't think it's pathetic at all. Even though I feel that way, often. We shouldn't feel pathetic because we live life in a way that gets us into tough spots beause we put it all out there. We put our hats into the ring and leave all our cards on the table, so to speak. That's not lame. It's the stuff that underwrites dream-chasing.

Indeed, non-bearers of social risk aren't pathetic either. However, if we lack people willing to take social and emotional risks, we as a society are surely lost. We should not feel pathetic for doing things which are hard. We cannot.

Satyam Vada, Dharman Chara

I've been thinking for many weeks now about why I believe in honesty. I've run into walls for two reasons. First, I find myself valuing honesty because if one is not honest, bad things happen. Second, I find myself valuing honesty because good thing happen if one is honest. These are fine, but their valuing honesty on the basis of utility.

I don't want to do that.

I want to find the intrinsic value of honesty. I believe in it because of it's very essence and I want to define that. I think I may have found an angle:

Honesty is sacred.

I believe in honesty because it is sacred. It is the glue that holds human bonds together. It is the basis of trust and one of the ultimate affirmations a person can bestoy to somebody else.

Honesty is a choice. When one is honest they are respecting life and reality for what it is. They are recognizing their existence. They are absorbing life purely. When acting honestly it builds trust among people. In fact, I'd say honesty is an absolutely essential to relationships - it's an infrastructure for human interaction.

It's an ultimate nod of respect. If you tell someone the truth, you are basically telling them that they matter enough to hear the truth. That they are capable of handling it's power.

And, there's a certain raw energy in stark, unadulterated honesty. Honesty and the truth are fixed, they are absolute. The truth is the truth, if you get down to it. This is supremely powerful because it is fundamental. For that reason I think honesty has energy - there are no ifs ands or butts about it, it's just there and cannot be trumped.

Satyam Vada, dharmam chara. This is a phrase describing the ultimate axiom of hindu morality - tell the truth, do your duty. It's funny, I remember learning about this in Sunday school when I was very, very little. Now, it finally means more than words. They are so powerful. Honesty often in.