"To be honest is to be real, genuine, authentic, and bona fide. To be dishonest is to be partly feigned, forged, fake, or fictitious. Honesty expresses both self-respect and respect for others. Dishonesty fully respects neither oneself nor others. Honesty imbues lives with openness, reliability, and candor; it expresses a disposition to live in the light. Dishonesty seeks shade, cover, or concealment. It is a disposition to live partly in the dark."

In this day and age it is VERY important to have an open and honest relationship with your children. You should start MUCH earlier than teens. However, having good communication with your teenager is vital to protecting them and properly guiding them.

I believe we should be COMPLETELY honest with them and share OUR own mistakes that we made...and the consequences of them. By being honest with them, they see us as more than "just Moms." They see that we were where they are at. We remember the pressures and difficulties.

I have heard a story about a man who admits to his loved one how he had wronged her. The man has been deceiving his wife all his life and decided one day to change his ways. The man seemed sincerely moved about his judgment and began to confess his unfaithfulness.

His wife was aghast with his revelation and they started not to speak. A week after revealing to his wife that he has often committed adultery over the years, his wife went under the care of a psychoanalyst at a mental hospital. As a result of this tactless honesty everything about his life collapsed.

Let's all stop pretending we're in business and start learning how to make it grow into a thriving, honest and reputable company. It is sometimes hard to be completely honest in everything we do. We could tell a "little white lie" and get that $120 bucks we so desperately need right now. Oh, what we have to give up to be honest.

I never lived in the 1800's but I have studied their life-styles quiet extensively. Back then - people were not afraid of hard work. In fact, it never entered their minds to be lazy. If someone in the community was lazy, they were considered abnormal and were given a bad name. Even as late as the 1940's, a man that didn't work to support his family was considered to be piece of "trash."

But can't these two traits live in harmony? Yes. Honesty CAN be kind. But it is rare person that can put these two together. More often honesty is just a way to judge someone for not being like you, thinking like you, acting like you. What you are saying is, 'If you were more like me, I wouldn't judge you.

But you are like YOU and I don't like it." We won't (or can't) take the extra effort to find the words within us to show the compassion that will help someone progress in a way that doesn't insult their current choices. It can be done, but there is a deep work involved in creating statements that reflect kindness and truth. "Kindness and honesty can only be expected from the strong," said Mother Theresa.