Honesty VS Kindness

[Diana]

Greetings once again, fellow seekers.

When someone asks you what you think of their art for example and you find out that it sucks.
What's the proper response? I always say wow it's good I like it!
I guess I'm more compassionate than honest  

Can't find a balance between the two... so is honesty or kindness more polarizing in these situations?

Since I'm an illustrator, I get asked this question a lot about art specifically. What I do is try to find something good to say about the piece at issue, and focus on that. I want to encourage creativity, and art is ultimately subjective, so I will point out good composition, or use of color, or expression of feeling, or whatever I see that is interesting.

My suggestion is to think "detached," rather than "kind" or "compassionate" which can lead to dishonesty. Detachment allows you to not be concerned whether the person you're addressing succeeds as an artist (or whatever) so you don't feel obligated to advise them. But being detached, you can find what's good, even when the subject is not a particular style you like, and express that without any qualifications or drawbacks.

This holds true for many things.