You Can't Handle the Truth

Being transparent means being vulnerable.  Vulnerability requires trust.  If you want someone to trust you enough to be vulnerable and transparent, then you have to be trustworthy. The problem is that people have different definitions of trustworthiness.  One person may think it means that they can keep a secret.  Maintaining a person’s privacy is only a part of it. Are you also able to leave what that individual tells you in that very moment and not use it to punish them in the future. Can you take what they tell you as their truth and not read your experience into their words.  Sometimes there is no pretext or subtext so reading between the lines can be destructive. Who wants the trauma of reliving their past for the sake of full disclosure and then be forced to defend or explain themselves to your satisfaction in the process.  Being open and honest is like someone handing another person a loaded gun. The concern is will they protect you or blow you away with it?