Tell Me Sweet Little Lies

On the drive home from work today, through those small backwoods roads, I began thinking about all the small little lies we tell often, if not everyday, to other people. Sometimes they are small ones. A stranger asks how you are doing, and you answer, "Good, thank you," even if you are not really alright. Then there are the lies we tell to others secretly hoping that if we say them enough, maybe we'll even start to believe them. Maybe the alternative, the reality, is too difficult to face. What if you don't really want to go to that school? What if you're already more deeply attached then you want everyone to think?

It's the latter of these which catch up to us in the end. They're not the lies that tangle you in a story you can't remember. They're the scenarios created in your mind that you want to be true. The thing is, you want to believe them so badly that other people believe you without a second thought. But here's the true question. If you speak the lies long enough, over and over, will you begin to think of them as the truth? And what if you decide that you can't accept this creation as the truth? If you decide to talk to someone in all honesty, will they ever believe another word you say again? If you come out and say, "I lied. I was only saying such silly things because it's what I needed to tell myself," how can you ever keep your honor in the other person's eyes.

You can't. Even if the little lies you told them made that person do something that impacted your life in a way you never wanted. The truth of the matter is that the truth hurts. And whether we want to believe the truth or the lies, is up to us. Is it right to fool others only in order to fool ourselves? This is the type of thinking that spins us in circles and makes our heads, and our hearts, ache. Next time you decide to tell a sweet little story, pause and think about the future repercussions it may hold. Is it, was it, worth it?

Peace,
Elina

This photo is of a road leading to Slemish Mountain in County Antrim. It's up to you to find the significance of this photograph.