Every family has one: a teller of unpopular truths. The youth who notices the uncomfortable silence that falls over the Thanksgiving table when Uncle Ralph pours himself a third glass of cabernet, and proclaims, "Uncle Ralph is drinking so much!" The teenager with Morticia Adams hair and makeup who drapes herself in black and tells her mom that dad is having an affair.

But usually there's also a caring, beloved elder whose truth telling is motivated by love for you and interest in your well being. The spouse who sees right through you and calls you on your nonsense when you're fooling yourself. A parent who isn't afraid to tell you that the girlfriend you've brought home doesn't seem to care for you as much as you care for her.

It hurts to hear the truth, even from someone who loves you. It's even harder to tell the truth even when you risk losing the affection of the person you tell it to. But the truth must be faced in order for conditions to change, or for real intimacy to occur. Today is a day to face those truths, and to begin the process of forging deeper intimacy with the people close to you.