Transparency and/or Translucency???

This past weekend I received, and have been quite taken with a blog post by one of my new favourites:  Seth Godin.  If you click here you will read his post on Transparency and Translucency and what is the difference and what difference they make in my life.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love the concept of Transparency.  I like it straight-forward, up-front and what I would consider honest.  But having read Mr. Godin's comments on these two attributes I can see that life would be smoother, easier, lovelier if I would learn a little more about Translucency.

And then our friend Ivan put us onto the following You Tube video which I hope you enjoy as much as we did.



Ok, so that describes Transparency very well.  You see what you get and you get what you see.

Now the Translucency part of life is not as easy for me to define.  But then I remember the motto I wrote for myself for the new year.

"Say what you mean and mean what you say, Kindly."

Aha, is the Kindly part of that my attempt at Translucency?  What do you think...read Mr. Godin's blog and tell me how you see these two attributes working together for the betterment of your life. Any ideas you may have on ways to incorporate Translucency into my life would be well received.

Have a great week and Be Well!!





Comments

  1. I'm still working on this transparency thing and having seen two seasons of "Lie to Me" has made me realize that even those who profess absolute honesty often spin the truth and even lie when the real truth is not comfortable.

    Tact is often more important than honesty. I think I get myself in trouble more often by being honest when I should be tactful.

    It reminds me of when H.M.S. Richards was asked by a lady if it was alright for her to wear lipstick to church? He replied, "If the barn needs painting, paint it."

    No doubt those on the nominating committee were not comfortable with his response... but he was kind and he was tactful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A painted barn has a better chance of translucency than a non-painted barn.

      Sounds good to me.

      Delete
    2. Sherwin, do you think you cannot be tactfully honest...I think that tact means honest in a nice way? No?

      Delete
  2. So you must be using semi-transparent paint!

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  3. Well, it's Seth Godin, so consider the source: a marketer. A master marketer, but still. As I read it, he's not talking about interpersonal relationships, but about business, where creating glow and attraction are desirable. When I think of people who create that kind of aura, I think of cult leaders, not real you and me people.

    That's my two cents. I have no problem with marketing per se, and I get that on some level we're all marketing ourselves. But in interpersonal connections, I'd take transparency over translucency any day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do like your two cents and you know that has been my goal too. But I think in all my transparency I have sometimes tended towards harsh, cold, slick instead of winsome and warm and comforting. I believe the later attributes do attract and connect better than the first.

      And whether I like it or not, a lot of the same situations you find yourself in business seem to rear their heads in 'just life' too.

      Delete
  4. Well, I do like the quote from HMS , and the Germans do have a way with producing the best! Love the factory! quality certainly has put them on the top in Europe , no wonder they can assist countries like Greece in a bail out! I did not think you had trouble with your transparency, I am the one that does the honest over tactful or even kind- it is like I should never open my mouth. Now you know why I don't mingle all that much, my mouth tends to get me into trouble a lot!!

    ReplyDelete

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