Yes the truth can set you free from guilt and remorse depending on the situation but the truth also seems to come with a price at times. You know the little truths that get you in trouble “Honey do I look fat”? ummmm, yes? OR perhaps sharing how you feel about someone even when done in a tactful way seems to backfire at times. We have been conditioned to hide the truth because (in a Jack Nicholson voice) we can’t handle the truth. Ask yourself, Self, do I really want to know the truth and how will I deal with this information when I receive it? This is oh so true when it comes to relationships and even with our kids. As a parent I knew that there would be times that my children would do things that I might not approve and I had to ask myself, self, do you really want to know and what would you do with the information. I know things that my kids don’t know that I know and sometimes that was because I had to protect my source. My whole point here is be honest even it hurts and start to condition yourself to be able to handle the truth. We can’t make good decisions if we don’t have honest, truthful facts. A simple example is if you cook something for me and I say that I like it but I really don’t then you are going to continue to cook it for me but if I am honest you have to be able to handle the fact that I don’t like and not take it personally. Of course I would appreciate the fact that you cooked it for me but for me personally I would rather know that you did not like something rather than lie to me. It’s not easy, I use to get upset after cooking for the kids and being told they didn’t like it, I mean how dare they. I work all day then come home and slave over a hot stove, well guess what, that still doesn’t make it taste good. The kids were always tactful about it and appreciated the meal but when I asked they were honest. Hitler comes to mind here because he would shoot the messenger if they brought him bad news so they stopped telling him the truth. Just think how many times we have desired to know the truth but were not prepared when we actually got it.
