Honestly Dishonest

Is honesty a good thing? I pose that as a serious question because I would love a serious answer (for all those who read this blog and cram my comments box with your responses!). And I know there are no absolute answers to these wanna-be philosophical questions that I ask in these entries but really...is honesty a good thing? On a 1 to 10 scale with 10 being OH YES! and 1 being HELL NO! where does honesty stand?

With certain situations in my life, I crave honesty with others so intensely that I feel there is no other solution than to be honest. But at the same time, that little thing called my brain doesn't always agree. It feels like my heart fights to be completely open and honest while my brain reigns it back and filters what actually leaves my mouth. Not that it would qualify as DIShonesty but more like monitored honesty. Is that how honesty should best be delivered when dealing with other people?

I know it depends on the situation and everyone's coming from a different place but it's interesting to observe around me the degrees of honesty and their consequences. I have seen complete honesty with someone result in a higher degree of understanding and I have also seen complete honesty lead to extreme hurt. At the same time, when you're only partially honest, who are you protecting from being hurt? Yourself or the person you're being partially honest with? I won't be writing any thesis papers on this so this will most likely be the extent of my conversation about honesty but it has been wading in my mind for ohhh, I don't know...maybe 14 hours now, on and off. Honesty is often a friend of Love, Trust, and Friendship but it could also be just as close with Betrayal, Hurt, and Anger. So it's a fine line, learning how to tread honesty. Sometimes I feel it's almost your duty to be honest, however that may be, but sometimes you have to sit back and watch others as they unfold the degrees of honesty to one another.