in a kingdom of glass

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“In the kingdom of glass everything is transparent, and there is no place to hide a dark heart.”
Vera Nazarian

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Most of us shiver at the thought of living in a kingdom of glass. The thought of absolutely no privacy is a pretty uncomfortable thought. So, we build fences, put curtains up and wear things that reshape how people see us. But this is also how dark hearts hide from us. Using the same tools, its not a question of privacy to them, it is a question of subterfuge. A pathway to purloining some of the goodness that exists elsewhere.

And therein lies my point. To get something good for all of us sometimes we have to do something that may feel a bit uncomfortable for the self. We are not machines and we need to have a sense of direction, but progress toward that direction relies on some belief that not only other humans are good, but it is just a bit easier to see the dark hearts that may seek to subvert our progress. Said another way, transparency needs some trust in human kind and kindness threaded through a society, a collection of individuals, who would like to be better tomorrow than today and recognize, collectively, we have a better chance in achieving this than if all of us hide behind curtains and fences. To be clear. Society does exist and is necessary, but as a supplement to individualism not a substitute. We is made up of I’s, and I’s create the We. Society is not only an outlet for our individual contributions, but also a reflection of our collective contributions. It is a place to give to as well as to receive. So maybe we should seek to create just a bit more of our kingdom out of glass so that there are fewer places for dark hearts to hide.