sanc5: Share your thoughts about HONESTY
Hello, everyone, how are you all doing and I hope everyone is doing well wherever you are? For me, I am doing pretty cool over here. I am @edwardp and I'm glad to be participating in this thought-provoking discussion on one of the most crucial yet often neglected qualities in our society called “HONESTY.”
I can boldly come to write about and share my thoughts on it because I have had many experiences and stories on being honest. I love being honest and fair in my dealings of all kinds. And before we even continue further, what then is honesty? The word HONESTY has a very simple meaning. We use it almost everyday of our lives even without knowing the dictionary meaning of it. If we should ask Google what honesty means, you would see something like “Honesty is the quality of being truthful, trustworthy, and fair. It means you do not lie, cheat, or steal, and your actions match your words.” And yes, that's a very simple and straightforward meaning of the word honesty. Everyone can have their own view and meaning to it but it still comes down to “being truthful” and I think that's the best shortest way to understand it.
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To me, honesty simply means telling the truth and doing the right thing, even when nobody is watching. So it's not just to say the truth, cause many can say the truth when asked who did it or who is at fault. And maybe to get validation or applause from the crowd or just to find favour from others. But in the real sense, honesty starts with you, even when no one is there, will be there or no favour is coming from anywhere. If you aren't hurt or backlash then it wasn't honesty. There's this popular saying which goes like this “Say the truth and the truth shall make you free”, in the actual sense it is not always so.
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For instance a boy mistakenly broke his dad's expensive glass when no one was around. He was very scared to admit it because he knew what would follow after admitting that he did it. And finally he admitted doing it, that boy would be punished by his dad. Was he free after saying it? And my answer to that is a big YES. They may not let you go without punishing you, but your heart has made you free from internal judgement. I have been in a situation where I had to tell a lie under pressure and the outcome didn't go well with me. I wasn't comfortable after that because my conscience was disturbing me.
I love honesty. Honesty can rule the world where power or fame may fail. Let me tell you one of the encounters I had about being honest. This happened to me. There was one day I was washing the WC toilet. While I was washing it, I didn't know how the pump water got spoiled but I knew very well I wasn't the one who spoiled it. My dad heard water rushing from the pump and immediately came to me and asked angrily what happened and I narrated what happened. But he didn't believe me. I kept on saying I wasn't the one. Right inside my mind, I can't admit to doing what I didn't do. In that argument, he slapped me, complained and left. Deep down, I was pained but I was also free for saying the actual truth. There are also so many other times I would see money in the floor, cabinet or kitchen. I would pick it and take it to my mom's room, cause I feel she's the rightful owner of it. I could have taken that money and used it without anyone suspecting anything but my honest self didn't let me do that.
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So, no one might be there, no one might even suspect, but doing the right thing at that point itself is the real honesty. We may not even get any reward for doing the right thing. But when you have that inner peace, then you're right on track. That inner peace is everything when it comes to honesty. Money can go, love can fail, even the success we all aspire to be can still come and go, but when you have sustained your name up there in Honesty, you can access any door in life. Honest people are respected people. You will easily gain the trust of others without having to bribe them with money, talk or fake love. You will see people naturally coming to you and entrusting you with their secrets, money and the rest you can think of that they can't give to just a random person. Honesty is for a lifetime while lying is just for the meantime, to bypass punishment or being disciplined.
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These are my few thoughts on Honesty. I pray we all live an honest and fulfilling life and also teach the younger children who are looking up to us as the outcome is always good and beneficial to us and to others. I invite @jubilcrypt, @davidgeneral, and @alexanderpeace to this contest of honesty.