Open and shut

I’m open
I’m direct
I’m willing
To share

I’m noisy
I’m chatty
I’m taking up
Space

I trust you
Before I know you
Am I stupid?
Should I care?

Should I care
That you don’t trust me
Won’t trust me
Though you know me?

If I am open
And you are shut
Is our relationship
Open and shut?

If I am transparent
And you are opaque
Do you take from me
And I not from you?

Should I care
That you don’t trust me
Won’t trust me
Though you know me?

Are you smarter
In your caution?
Or are you suffocating
Yourself
And me?

Am I rash
In my openness
Or am I stifling
Your space?

But I’m open
Because I am!
And you’re closed
Because you are?

Should I be less open
So you can’t use me
Should I shut down
Except for others
Who are open?

But would I be happy
If I closed down?
And would you ever survive
Opening up?

Personality
Inequality
Power
Both ways

I cannot resolve this
I know there are dangers
Like identity theft (link to Alec Couros post – an open educator himself)
Like privacy issues (link to Jade Davis’s post on DML hub)
And more…

Can we work around this?
Can we build trust
Be critical
Yet stay open?
Stay connected? (Link to the DML trust challenge)

Would you open up
Should you open up
Do I have the right
To ask you

If you stay shut
Should you stay shut
Can I coninue
To make myself
Vulnerable
To you?

But you know what
I am open
For myself
And for others who are
Open
I am not open
For you
I am just…
Open

The jury’s out
On how my openness
Will pan out
But I can only be
True to myself
Be open