REAL progress... more truth/lies...

Well, my weight is the same today, as it was last week. I'm celebrating that I didn't gain any weight. I have a gift for putting a positive spin on almost anything. It's related to and even interchangeable with that ability to lie, depending on the intent. I'm not trying to deceive myself or anyone else. I did manage to control my eating a little better. I've been the teetering snipe more often. I haven't done so well with sleep, and my stress isn't doing well either, but I'm not giving up.

A dear friend sent me an email about yesterday's post, stating it was an intriguing observation:

As I reflected on the very real possibility that this could come out, I was thinking about how lies always come back and bite you. And then I thought: No, lies are dark. They don’t like to be revealed. They will do anything to remain covered, hidden. What a shock to realize that it’s the truth that always comes back to bite you. It’s the truth that refuses to stay hidden. Truth is light, where lies huddle in the darkness. It is light that pushes back the darkness. In a dark room, if there is even a single candle, the light from that candle banishes the dark.

Struggling to embrace the concept of truth, and releasing the lies, it's a whole new perspective to realize that lies are weak, pitiful things that require re-enforcement to survive. And yet, even with backup, lies eventually fall apart and fail. Whereas no matter how many lies you pile on top of the truth, the truth remains, unchanging.

I started to reply and then decided I wanted to reply here, because I'm still digesting this. The more I think about it, the more it holds true. Lies are ever changing, slippery, shifting. The same lie may be used over and over, with only slight variations, but they are never able to stand alone. Someone, sooner or later, recognizes it for what it is, and then the backup lies begin. That isn't to say that sometimes truth isn't mixed in. In fact, it frequently is. The adversary is more than willing to use the truth. Why lie if the truth will do, with the merest of twists, which is indicative of the consummate liar, because why work any harder than necessary? Add a little bit, or withhold a little bit. Lies, no matter how you look at them, are designed to distort the truth. That is the sole purpose of a lie.

The truth is the truth no matter how you turn it. Its soul purpose is to reveal and enlighten.

What has driven this home, this week, for me? Time's deplorable article on the Constitution. If ever someone twisted the truth to fit their own agenda, it was the writer of that article. Fortunately, Aaron Worth posted a clear and concise rebuttal at Big Journalism. And here's the official link to the Constitution.

I was appalled that a supposedly educated journalist, supposedly writing for a high-brow magazine (my mistake), would make such blatant errors that were easy to check. I was pleased that I didn't actually need Aaron Worth's well-written post, because I've been researching my own history. When I realized how many lies I'd believed growing up, I started hunting for the truth. I had to start with the basics. It's interesting to observe my own sense of calm as I realize I'm no longer frantically scrabbling for whether or not whatever someone is telling me is the truth. If I don't know, I look it up. Once I know, I don't second guess myself. I do allow for growth and greater understanding.

So, one more observation: Lies take a huge amount of work!! That's why the most adept liars use as much truth as possible. That's why one has to learn for one's self. Growing up as I did, I was expected to trust those older, wiser, more educated. I was belittled, teased, and punished for questioning. I learned that it's impossible to jump off that hamster wheel if you don't know the truth. Once you know the truth, and embrace it, you see the hamster wheel for what it truly is, a distraction from what is important, from what matters. The truth. The truth will set you free, free to be who you are, free to be a light and comfort to others, free to embrace the beauty and love surrounding you, and free from the clutter and chains of lies.

From a certain point of view, I realize it all sounds rather woo-woo, esoteric, out-there, mumbo-jumbo-ish. Live the truth, and everything will be perfect. Ummm... no. Pursue the truth, and the world becomes a broader place to explore. Lies limit; that's the trap of lies. Lies imply that they will give more freedom, more options, more opportunities, but instead they enclose, limit, bind, chain the person to the lies. The only real and lasting escape and freedom is the truth.