Enough with the grey, the drab, the driving rain, the weather bomb* bearing down on us.
let's stroll instead through les 29 Black Street iphoto floral archives
Truth fears no questions
Unknown
When I'm not scarfing down cheetos cheesies with Bitchy (a relatively rare occurrence), I'm quite a fan & pretty avid follower of the self development movement. When best friend MLou & I get together it's always the No. 1 topic (with a bullet) of our marathon chat-a-thons. Recently Oprah had a series called LifeClasses on her new network OWN. I don't have that channel but I really enjoyed watching the LifeClass webcasts available on Oprah's web site. Oprah with a bevy of self help gurus including Eckhart Tolle, Cheryl Richardson, Iyanla Vanzant & Martha Beck tackling big important life lessons - anger, fear, ego ... Martha's written many great books & also has a pretty fantastic monthly column in Oprah's magazine O. I like Martha, she talks & writes with a self deprecating humour, she chats about serious issues with a lightness that is particularly welcoming & it's crystal clear that she's on this big freakin' journey with us. Martha's Lifeclass with Oprah was titled The Truth Will Set You Free and she talks about a traumatic, life changing moment in her own life where she woke up from an anaesthetic in hospital freaked out a little - she decided she would from that day forward always tell the truth.
Interesting because in no way had Martha been a big ol' liar but she was living a life, like we all do, where we consciously (& unconsciously) embellish, omit, exaggerate, beat around the bush, etc ... we lie from feelings of embarrassment, self consciousness, fear ... lots of the lies don't even feel like lies anymore. We're so convincing even we believe them (Shut ! Up !). This particular webcast really stuck with me. I suspect I seem quite open, honest, heart on sleeve-ish and I am for the most part. I certainly have been telling myself (the lie) that I'm a pretty up front, honest kinda gal. Am I really ? Since watching this webcast (a few times) I've begun practicing really telling the truth, even when the voice in my head is saying ooh don't do it you're gonna embarrass yourself, what will they think of you ? I'm practicing being as direct as I can possibly be & it's difficult. I realize if I'm having a hard time being direct chances are it's because I haven't really figured out what it is I'm wanting to communicate (what do I wish to gain from these words I'm about to utter). What is the emotion or feeling behind that hesitation ??
Speaking the truth & always with kindness or perhaps more thoughtful silence is required
We tell lies when we are afraid ... afraid of what we don't know,
afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us.
But everytime we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger
Tad Williams
* re bomb : I am however, lovingly embracing the freakishly mild & balmy temperatures
Very interesting, thought-provoking post, Susan.
ReplyDeleteI try never to lie, but I do sometimes hold back and avoid telling the truth. Same difference, in the end, perhaps. I shall ponder this some more......
Hi Rach,
ReplyDeleteIf you have an hour the webcast (which I linked to - The Truth ...) is really worth watching. I'm watching/listening to it again right now. Martha speaks about it not feeling like lying ... it is more about not "really" telling the truth.
It's funny since I began experimenting with really "telling my truth" I've been amazed that people are responding to me the way I would want them to & that reaction is most often exactly opposite of what I would've predicted.
You know I try and be an honest person but more often I am a silent person. Both ways bite me in the ass.
ReplyDeleteshine your light Shammy !
ReplyDeletemore & more I believe this to be true
"As we let our light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence actually liberates other "
Marrianne Williamson
xo Susan & gang
Thanks for the referral to the website, Susan. I forgot all about it in the hustle of the move - must get back to listening/watching! Those webcasts helped me get packed up! LOL
ReplyDeletehey susan!
ReplyDeletelove the new look - very clean. and the crows! keep 'em coming. going to my mom's place in NB for the hols and looking forward to visiting her local corbies - there's a ton of them in her neighbourhood.
cheers - n
yep, and every time I do tell the truth, even if I try to do it kindly, somebody gets offended. It happened again just last week. Haven't heard a word since. Oh, well.
ReplyDelete