The best thing for you, my children, is to serve God from our heart, without falsehood or shame, not giving out to people that you are one thing while, God forbid, in your heart you are another. —Gluckel of Hameln—
We pray for wholeness of the spirit: to be able to live cleanly, with no shame, and to meet every aspect of life with the same serene face. It isn’t easy for most of us. We fuss. We trip ourselves up. We may find ourselves telling lies, creating emotional turmoil to escape what we see as even greater turmoil. The first step toward wholeness is for us to admit that we are human.
No, not perfect; yes, about as flawed as everybody else. Once the knowledge is part of us that we’re part of suffering, seeking humanity, a lot of falsehood and turmoil shears away.
There isn’t any big secret to protect; there’s just you, just me. However different we may appear, we’re more than kin. And we can keep each other honest. The habit of honesty, once formed, is harder to break than the habit of lying. I shall resolve to show the same face everywhere, and I’ll become serene.