| |
The word honesty comes from the Latin
word honestus, honos, both modifications of the ancient Latin word honor
(honour), hence the original meaning “of persons holding an honorable
position, respectable.”
In English, there are a range of meanings and attributes associated with the
word honesty, namely:
•Sincere, truthful, candid- that will not lie, cheat or steal (1400)
•Of actions, feelings, etc: fair straightforward: free from fraud
(1400’s)
•Decent in appearance; comely, neat, tidy (1566)
•Of a thing: genuine (1598)
•Ingenuous; open; frank (1634)
•Of persons of good moral character, virtuous, upright (1702)
•Honorable, creditable (1720)
|
|
| |
While the origin of honesty (along with
the word honor) come from a background more to do with position, than
character, there are a range of key qualities that have grown with the word. We
can essentially summarize the most important of these as definitions that
define “clarity of signal/image” namely “truthful, sincere,
open, frank.
Inner clarity of signal enables us to be in touch with what our body and our
mind is telling us. Without internal clarity of signal it is difficult to keep
track and be aligned.
Remarkably, we understand the nature of a clear signal when considering the
importance of television or mobile phone reception, but spend little time
considering the same concept within ourselves.
The second key quality of honesty relates to the concept of being neat and tidy.
This may appear to be in conflict with the behaviour and teachings of many wise
and holy gurus and mystics over the ages who promoted the wearing of rags.
The point to honesty is that dress reflect our inner mind- While we will discuss
it in more detail later in this book, it is worth considering that either
extreme- extreme rags and extreme wealth are both two sides of the coin.
|
|
