“To
believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest” ~Mahatma Gandhi
Honesty
is like rebar (short for reinforcing bar, made of steel rods that are the essential
structure when using cement and masonry in building). It helps bond and hold
our core principles in place. It can be said that it is the most important
facet of our moral character. In short, honesty defines who we are.
Now if
that doesn’t put into perspective how important honesty is to us as human
beings, I don’t know what does.
What
brings about dishonesty? The answer is lots of things. But most likely fear would be associated with all of
them in some form.
Each
time we are dishonest, it’s like scratching the lens of our glasses. The size
of the scratch on your lens will depend of the lie. With each scratch our
vision becomes a little more distorted.
Some
of us will get used to those scratches and thus look at life through a
distorted lens (believing our own BS/lies) while others will see and feel
uncomfortable and will want to change those lenses.
Almost
all of us are born with a “belly barometer” as I like to call it. We know even
as little kids when we are being dishonest, but over time when that belly
barometer is ignored it lessens and lessens until it’s not there anymore.
“Honesty
is the first chapter of the book wisdom” ~Thomas Jefferson
One of
the ways dishonesty is very sneaky is through omission. Most people will
rationalize that they didn’t lie because they didn’t say something that was
untruthful, but at the same time they did leave out part of what was being
talked about. Omission is a lie when you leave out something that would change the
meaning of what you said, thus giving a false representation of what is being
spoken about.
A lie
is a lie. If you rationalize why you tell lies, you are tearing away at the
structure of your integrity and morality. There is no white lie. It’s a law of
nature. Telling lies, regardless if they are small or large, will only bring
about more lies.
Being
honest is not always easy and sometimes it isn’t the right thing to do…at that
moment. This is where you need the help of a spiritual advisor, a friend or
loved one who will not be biased (this is hard to find), or good therapist.
Honesty
will bring you inner peace; dishonesty will bring you inner (and eventually
outer) pain. Honesty will build character; dishonesty tears it apart. Honesty
brings you respect; dishonesty brings disrespect. Honesty will bring you
strength; dishonesty weakness. Honesty brings wisdom; dishonesty ignorance.
There
is so much to write about on this topic, I can go one and on…maybe another
time.
Perhaps
honesty is best summed by this teacher below:
“For honesty to be complete, it must exist in
three things. It must exist in the heart as one’s faith, it must exist in the
intentions behind one’s deeds, and it must be present in the words that one
speaks.” ~Harith al-Muhasibi, a teacher of Sufi Masters
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