How often do you tell the
truth? Come clean...some of the time? Most of the time? All of the time?
Really??
I'll be honest, I don't
think any one of us can lay claim to complete and total truthfulness - not
because we're bad people (necessarily), but because to be totally fair, the
truth isn't always that practical...
For example; a friend has
lost their job and asks whether everything will be OK; How do you respond?
"Well the thing is mate, is that it's an incredibly tough to get a job out
there at the moment and to be honest, you got fired because you were snorting
coke off of your boss' wife's forehead, so you're hardly gonna have a glowing
reference from him, and even then you were always wildly mediocre at school and
college, and let's face it - you dropped out of uni in a few months, so in all
probability no, you're gonna struggle to find a job, probably put on a shed
load of weight because you can't afford gym membership and because you're going
to be comfort eating your way through a lot of chocolate and cake, and then
you'll probably end up working part time at the KFC in the local service
station."
Too mean, right? I know.
But that's the truth of the matter. So in reality, we're more likely to offer
our occupationally bereft friend a diluted version, something along the lines
of; "nah - you'll be fine mate. Beer?" Hardly the most genuine of
responses, but one that's infinitely more palatable than the…truth…*shudder*
But I'm not here to pass
judgement on how we get by from day to day - we do what we need to do, in order
to keep things on the level. What interests me is the feeling we get when we do
tell the truth - the euphoria of honesty.
By nature, we're designed
to share our thoughts with each other and it seems obvious to me that it's only
the great shadow of 'society' that has taught us to bury our instincts and keep
schtum!
I mean just look at kids -
love 'em or hate 'em, you ask the little blighters a question and you get an
honest answer...
Q. Is uncle Gareth cool?
A. Not really
Q. Has uncle Gareth got
fatter?
A. *giggle* Yes.
Sigh.
...y'see? It's not
malicious, it's not loaded with agenda, the truth is that we're born wanting to
speak our minds!
And again when we're drunk
- when we lose our inhibitions (and revert to our child-like ways), we tell the
truth.
It may be embarrassing and
awkward in class or in the office the next day, but at the time it feels right
and good and liberating! This is summed up in a wonderful phrase that I’ve
uttered many a time over the years; In
vino veritas” (in wine there is truth) – come on, how perfect is that? Well
ne'er a truer word was spoken in my case at least - I've always been more
'talkative' after a glass of port.
But whatever the
aftermath, when we forget ourselves and when we forget tomorrow, we revel in
the truth. We dance in it as we drink it in and breathe it out…and for those
few minutes or hours, we are free, and open and honest…and boy doesn’t it feel
great?
Just take a look at these
people when they were asked to bare their hidden thoughts with the world…it’s a
fascinating concept – to share yourself with total strangers – but it makes for
an interesting watch, and perhaps take this chance to share your own secret
with a few (not so distant) strangers…
Just a thought…
