As a child, I was told to live as though God was watching. To not do anything that I did not want God to see. Or do anything that I would not do in public.

At the time, it was received in the same way the advice about “always wear clean underwear in case you get sick and are taken to the hospital”. I did not listen to either suggestion.

But, as I have gotten older, and hopefully wiser, I have come to believe that there is a lot of wisdom in living a transparent life. Living a life of honesty.

And the honesty that I am talking about is not the cash register honesty. When my ex wife would get a phone call from someone that she did not want to talk to, she would ask me to tell them she was taking a bath. Before I would tell them that, I had her go stand in the tub.

The honest that is necessary is about our thoughts and actions. The ones that we display and the ones that we hide. The ones that tell us that we are not worthy of anything, especially happiness.

I have heard it said that my mind wakes up 45 minutes before me and starts telling me that I am worthless and no good. That way, when I get up, I have already started buying into the illusion that I do not deserve the good life.

The fourth step in the 12 step programs is “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves”. Then the next step is to share this information with another human being so that we can get rid of the shame and guilt of our past actions.

My mind is a dangerous neighborhood to visit alone. I need to get the thoughts out from between my ears and down on paper so they are less powerful. I need to share them with someone that can help me to see that I am a good person. That I am worthwile.

By following the suggestions of my 12 step program, I have started to believe that I am a worthy person.

I have started to watch my thoughts, words and actions. I have started observing my life. I need to do this because God is watching my every actions. He is watching what I do, not to judge and punish but to be available to help me if I ask for help.

We have heard that “I cannot hear what you are saying because your actions are speaking too loud”.

Well, it is time to begin observing our actions so that we can know what we are saying to others.

Life is as good as I allow it to be!