guts required

lately, i’ve found myself doing this more and more—without fully conscious in what area i am when i did it:

imagine a venn diagram where right and kind intersect, and i’m fully in the right zone (including the intersected part).

i've been doing this to almost everyone i’ve met recently. to uncle, aunt, mom, dad, colleague, friend—also to people like nurses and doctors (since my dad’s been sick lately).

i just… speak up. i say what i really think. maybe sometimes it’s kind, sometimes it’s not. and maybe it’s not always the kindest thing too. but it’s the truth.

and strangely, it feels good.

there’s something freeing about saying what needs to be said—even when it’s uncomfortable. even when it doesn’t land softly.

***

but today, I tried something different.

i consciously chose to be kind, without voicing what i truly thought—words that i knew were right, but possibly hurtful. i choose kindness over honesty.

and to my surprise, it was easy.

much easier than standing firm in the truth.

being kind felt like hiding behind a shield. safe. gentle. untouchable. and from that moment, i understood something clearly:

sometimes, being honest takes guts.

but that doesn't mean being kind doesn't take guts too. it does, just in different way.

that time i consciously chose to be fully kind, some truths didn’t get said. some bitter words stayed behind my teeth. but trusting that the person might understand anyway—without me spelling it out—actually takes guts too.

so, sometimes, silence takes guts, too.