Discretion

It is said that communication channels must never be closed. One must be honest, free and frank. One should be able to express one's thoughts, without inhibition. There must be transparency and honesty. All these values that one grew up with, seem to be outdated today.

In my day to day relationship with all the people who I meet and interact with, I have observed that I often shy away from saying my true thoughts. Often, I camouflage them, or avoid saying harsh truths. There is no need to tell a lie, but it is possible to avoid telling the truth too. This is not a new thing, even in Mahabharata one comes across the dilemma of Yudhishtir who uses the words, " Ashwatthama Hata, Narova kunjarova", to mislead the opposite warring faction.

Discretion is the better part of valour, they say.

Perhaps , in every relationship, one needs to maintain a certain amount of distance, discretion and diplomacy. I used to believe, that one needs to be very honest, in every relationship. I am now thinking that one needs to nurture every relationship, however close it may be. For nurturing it, perhaps, one can simply avoid being brutally honest.

One has to manage each relationship. No one can be taken for granted. Every person needs to be given their space. Each person has his or her own value system, with which we grow up. Each person's reaction to a given situation is bound to be different. There can be no hard and fast rules to what is right and what is wrong. Therefore, imposing my thoughts on others, is definitely not right. I have to be willing to accept differences of opinion, and respect the thoughts and decisions of others.

We are all here on planet earth, for a short while. It is therefore desirable to be happy and allow everyone else also to be happy.

Relationships demand a lot of adjustment, understanding, space, mutual respect, and above all diplomacy and discretion.