Black and White

Clarity:

noun

1.

clearness or lucidity as to perception or understanding; freedom from 

indistinctness or ambiguity.

2.

the state or quality of being clear or transparent to the eye; pellucidity:

the clarity of pure water.

I am all about "clarity".

I am not interested in grey areas.

Once things get blurry, it's hard for me to focus.

In most every aspect of my life, 

I draw hard lines--

and because I know my self so well, 

I also know I have to be careful about those hard lines

and where I draw them.

I don't flinch on somethings--

honesty.

truth.

loyalty.

effort.

integrity.

Those things I don't flinch on.

Not with myself, not with my family, not with my friends.

I was having lunch with a dear friend last week

and as this topic came up,

she said,

"Judging others is my favorite sin."

We both laughed. And cringed.

It's true. I am completely guilty of judging--

not to condemn others,

but to protect my self.

I have discovered that the older I get,

the more suspicious I am of others and their motives.

I pay attention--

if someone is especially gossipy about someone else,

in an unkind way,

I find that I am guarded about what I say to them

and I back away as slowly as I can without causing a stir.

I also have a hard time trusting someone who comes across as selfish,

self-righteous, self-serving, and diva-like.

To me, that means they will choose themselves over anyone else

leaving "loyalty" on the curb.

 I don't know what this says about me,

still figuring this out, really.

I like the part of the Hypocratic Oath that says, 

"First Do No Harm."

I want to be mindful of that oath because it's a good one, yeah?

Another fault of mine is I don't suffer fools lightly.

I don't see as my role that of correcting fools either.

Unless they're my kids--then, yes, 

I have to,

HAVE TO,

correct them.

That comes with the territory of being a Parent.

But the rest of the world is on their own.

You're welcome.

Not my business if you wanna lie through your teeth

like everyone on "Grey's Anatomy" or "General Hospital",

go ahead, create your legacy.

But 

Stay away from me and mine.

Being clear with my family is imperative because my goal

is to be as transparent as possible with them.

I want to them to be able to judge me, if you will,

as to what's important to me.

No smoke and mirrors here.

So yeah, I have to be careful where I draw those hard lines.

There's lots of things I let "slide"--

heavens, I am not interested in stirring up contention over 

silly, insignificant things--

those that fall under the heading of:
"WILL IT MATTER IN A YEAR? A MONTH? A WEEK? AN HOUR?"