the weight of secrets & transparency

 

stars and secrets

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“To agree to keep a secret is to assume a burden.”

Sam Harris

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Well.

wisdom ability knowledge learningThis is sort of about transparency. What I mean is that we don’t often speak of transparency in an equation sort of way – give and not give.There is a burden on both sides not just in the actual ‘doing of’. There is a burden within what you decide to give within your transparency objectives/intent as well as a burden within what you decide to not give and hold on to. I say that because that burden is, well, a weight. A weight I call the weight of secrets.

Now. I would say all knowledge is a burden.

It carries a weight of responsibility with regard to what you do with it … how you act because you have it … as well as how you think about you, and others, with it. Having accepted knowledge you have made an agreement with it. I tend to believe we don’t think about this. We accept knowledge as … well … maybe like income earned – disposable income in fact.

We worked for it, we earned it and it is now ours to spend as we choose. They are our ‘secrets’ and we decide whether we want to share those secrets or not. I do think it would be helpful <if not slightly capitalistic & less human than we would like> if we did think of being transparent this way.

That said. I believe knowledge is actually more like freedom. It is an unalienable right but it is also a privilege and therefore one assumes a responsibility to it and with it.

Uhm.

And with responsibility comes burden. Which almost sounds odd in that something with ‘free’ in it should be … well … “freeing” … and not carrying such a heavy burden. Maybe I should just suggest that nothing really comes for free … everything has something attached to it.

Knowledge?

Responsibility … the burden of responsibility. The burden of secrets – shared and held.

And that is a weight you carry … one which can be as light or as heavy as you make it. But. It is a weight nonetheless. One which you learn to carry well or carry poorly.

Knowledge tests our ability … and our character … with regard to how well we can carry this weight. It tests how strong we are .. once again … in ability an character. Having said that <and most likely having a number of people feeling a little uncomfortable thinking about knowledge that way>.

Secrets are a completely different level of a knowledge burden. And secrets are tricky.

secret shhhh shush quietSome are thrust upon you … unwanted but yet yours nonetheless.

Some are gifted you … carefully shared by someone who believes the weight it carries is too much for themselves … alone.

But regardless of how you assume the responsibility of a secret … it is also knowledge. And therefore it also carries a burden … a responsibility … and a weight.
I don’t have the scale to weigh them but my guess is that a knowledge secret exponentially weighs more than a traditional knowledge. I also don’t have any research but I also tend to believe, just like extra physical weight, as soon as we start feeling the extra weight of a secret … we seek to shed it.

Therein lies the true test of character.

Do I treat the secret as added weight thru muscle or view it as fat.

On the former I become stronger and faster. On the latter I become slower and unhappier.

On the former I don’t look for an opportunity to shed the weight. On the latter I am always thinking about opportunities to shed the weight.

All knowledge tests you. Secrets test you even more. Knowledge, and secrets, take a strength of self to carry its weight. The weight of responsibility of having the knowledge, the weight of freedom knowledge typically permits us and the weight of character that knowledge either hones into muscle or creates an excess of fat.

That is a lot of extra weight we have accepted by taking on this knowledge.

I tend to believe we do not think about this enough. Especially those who hunger for knowledge.personally responsible

To be clear … I also tend to believe those who hunger for real knowledge do not hunger for secrets <secret hungry people are beings all in themselves something different>. But I also believe those who hunger for real knowledge are given ‘secret knowledge’ whether they want it or not.

All knowledge is heavy in some form or fashion. Secrets maybe even more so. Understanding this, and the burden you have assumed, makes the weight a little more bearable because you aren’t surprised by it and you actually start carrying it better.

We talk about transparency as “freeing” and, well, it is. And, yet, it isn’t. In business , & in Life I imagine, its just not practical to be 100% transparent. And anything less than 100% means you are choosing what % <specific things> to keep secret. Those ‘things’ become, well, the weight you carry.

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Written by Bruce