Be Careful What You Hide

“Be careful what you hide. You will become the thing you hide. If you hide hurt you will become full of hurt and be hurtful. If you hide fear, you will become full of fear and be fearful. If you hide shame, you will fill with shame and become shameful. Be careful what you hide. Have a good life.”

This was a College Commencement speech I heard 10 years ago. There were probably a dozen speakers and presenters on the stage that day giving their best advice and wisdom to the Class of 2004. I don’t remember anything anyone else said. These words were offered by an elderly African American woman who used very few words to deliver a very big truth; hiding is hazardous to our health.

Hiding hard things is an easy habit to get into. It is often more comfortable and convenient to slide some things under the “Proverbial rug” than to risk awkward or embarrassing conversations. We need to be careful about the things we avoid, about the things we hide. It is dark under the rug, and bad things grow bigger in the dark.

Let’s live in the light. Good things grow in the light. Let’s invite create relationships that share honestly and openly people’s real hurts, their real fears, their real concerns. It is lonely in the dark. Large doses of listening and love will draw a hiding heart into the light.