“If indeed you must be candid, be candid beautifully.”
Sometimes, whether we want to or not, we have to lay ourselves bare and just put it all on the table.
No one comes together with another person with empty pockets or bags. It doesn't happen. Unless we're speaking of babies. No matter how we come together - as friends or as lovers, everything needs to be put on the table. At one time or another.
Some things have to be laid out sooner than others. Other things, they can wait. Sometimes, we don't have a choice but to lay it all out or lose.
This isn't cards. We don't need to hide our hands. We lay them down and bring our hands together to form one hand. Love is about bringing it all together.
It's like preparing a dinner with what you have. My father is an expert at seeing things in the fridge and making a meal when no one can see how it all comes together. Ever had a wonderfully unexpected dinner that wasn't planned, wasn't from a recipe but was from what you had left over? Putting everything on the table reminds me of those dinners.
Sometimes we won't lay it out because we think someone won't like what we have. But what if you learn they have some of the same things you do? What if they have the missing pieces you need to make your life better?
Meet people where they are, with what they have.