LIES, TRUTH, THE ELEPHANT, & THE EMPEROR

LIES. The most damaging lies are the ones we believe, and the ones we tell ourselves. Sometimes we live with these lies for years and years, and we smile and pretend that the elephant in the room is not really there at all. We actually start to believe our own lies in time, and our lying thoughts deceive even our eyes and our hearts. If you tell yourself something long enough, whether true or false, you start to believe it. 

That's what lies do. They damage, they hurt, they deceive, they contort, they cheat, they hide.

Lies make cowards of us all.

But, try as we might to ignore it, the elephant IS there. It's big, it's awkward, it stinks, and everyone operates and lives by working around it. There are huge, devastating consequences to living with the elephant, yet we allow it to stay and dominate our lives, our homes, our relationships, our careers. Getting rid of it seems harder than living with it, I guess. (By the way, this is a metaphoric elephant. I love real elephants. Don't hate.)

Lately it seems I've been the only lonely voice pointing out, "Excuse me, but THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES ON!" Everyone knows it, but no one will admit it, because they dare not upset the almighty emperor (who, incidentally, is the biggest liar of all). There are lots of reasons people choose to ignore the truth, but it's usually a combination of fear and selfishness. I don't want to be intimate friends with either fear or selfishness. They are not faithful friends, and to be honest, we have a very bad history. I want to be best friends with confidence, humility, and TRUTH. Speak the truth in love, but for heaven's sake, speak it out loud, especially to yourself.

The truth will set you free. It may hurt like hell, but it will definitely set you free.