Wednesday, May 05, 2010

This I Believe, again.

I have spent much of this year reflecting upon what matters in life. Friends, family, persistence, freedom, etc. In other words, I've cataloged the core group of things that I value.

But I want to revisit an old exercise that I struggled with the first time around.

Backstory: one of my favorite things is the radio segment This I Believe. Basically in the 1950's - during the era of McCarthyism - when the nation was it one of its most fearful times, Edward R. Murrow invited citizens to espouse their deepest convictions on the radio. Recently, the program was revived because it was a time, again, where the reflection and sharing of peoples' strongest convictions was needed most.

I want to do this again, because the first time was a miserable failure.

I've parsed out what drives me, the heuristics I live my life by, and what matters to me most in the world. Those things are clear. Now it's time for conviction. It's time to cull out my deepest, innermost belief. (Note: that noun is singular, it has to be).

So, I will start off by completing this sentence. I thought it was going to be hard, but it hit me about 70 words ago.

If I was to tell you one thing about me, one thing that if you understood that you would understand me it would be that...

I believe in the power of Honesty.

Now, for a post in the future...what does it mean to believe in honesty?

-nt