In case you missed it … hiding behind the hilarity of last week’s Journal post was a sobering truth we would all do well to ponder. {You’ll find it right here in plain sight, halfway down the page at http://unbridledacts.org/the-laughter-and-love-of-less-than-perfect-mothers/.} It’s the toll of secret-keeping, and the courage it takes to dig deep, ditch the lies, and disclose our secrets … first to ourselves, then to the people affected by them.
Half-truths are such a convenient way to hide what we don’t want to admit, and we’re so good at them! Ingeniously ignoring the fact that the other half of a half-truth is really just a lie. Thus, the title of a previous Journal post, Convenient Lies … in case you missed it. {Ouch! Stings, doesn’t it?} Read it if you missed it, and if it doesn’t sting, at least a little, try reading it again. Slower, this time. {And that’s all I’ll say about that for now.} http://unbridledacts.org/convenient-lies-3/.
We’re in this together, right? And the Journal is for sharing what we’ve learned (sometimes the hard way), so you can learn (sooner rather than later) that life turns out much better when we choose truth over secrets, lies, and counterfeits. I call them ‘pitiful counterfeits’ in my own life – whatever I use to hide insecurities, numb pain, fill voids … or distract me from what’s required to achieve my true purpose in life. {Ouch! Run! Hide! Have a drink! I hate admitting this stuff!}
That’s shame talking, in case you didn’t recognize it. Always prowling around, whispering that kind of stuff in our ears. How convenient to use past failures to convince us that we’re never going to be able to change things we do that we hate, so might as well just quit trying and turn all that hate on yourself. And while you’re at it, here’s more shame for all that time and energy you’ve been wasting on pitiful counterfeits. It’s a vicious cycle, and unless we stop long enough to notice what’s going on, our defaults will continue to drive our choices … until we realize that we have the power and the freedom to choose something better.
I hate the ‘pitiful counterfeits’ I’ve settled for in my own life … more than I hate admitting them. {And you already know how much that is!} But because I absolutely abhor the thought of others falling for them, I share pieces of my story and ‘lessons-learned-the-hard-way’ with the hope that you’ll be convinced to make different choices in your life. And if you’re still with me, I’ll just say one more thing for now. Thanks for sticking with me instead of running at the first sting of recognition or shame. It’s hard to admit this stuff. But the truth is that we all need to sober up and get serious about admitting that we need help learning to live differently. And because we’re in this together, and I’ve learned this stuff the hard way, I hope you’ll borrow some of my passion for this, and repeat after me:
We’re not falling for it anymore! No more settling for convenient lies and pitiful counterfeits that will never give us what we truly want in life. Nothing but the real thing will do, and we’re ready to sober up and get serious about doing what we need to do to have it!
Ok, gotta run! Got some living to do, and so do you.
Have a great week!
