The price of dishonesty is self-destruction.


-- Rita Mae Brown
 
 

 

 
There once was a woman who told her husband what she thought he wanted to hear.

She told him she was happy when she wasn't. She told him she liked his friends when she didn't. 

She tried to figure out what he wanted so she could do it for him. 

 She felt hurt when he didn't do the same for her.

She felt he should also try to read her mind and do what she wanted without her having to express it.

She was scared to tell him how she really felt.

However, her pain and resentment grew so much she couldn't stand it any longer, so she told him her true feelings.

He was so used to hearing her lies that he called her a liar when she told the truth.

Now she knew how much she had hurt herself by trying to please him at the cost of her own honesty and needs.

Honesty is necessary for a good relationship with anyone. When we lie to ourselves, we cannot tell the truth to others. 

By being honest, we open our doors to others, we trust them with our true feelings, and they love us for who we really are.

 

 

 

 

 


 
 

 

 

We are not educated: most of us cannot read or write.

But we are strong because we are close to the earth

and we know what matters.
 
 

-- Mie Amano
 
 

 

 

The important thing in life is to know what matters for us. Our reality and values are our own; no one else can dictate them to us. They come out of our experiences and observation, and our spiritual health asks that we be true to them.

Similarly, we must be true to what matters for us. We won't try to win anyone over. Nor will we let someone else sway us. 

We will respect each other's reality, for that's how we will live in peace.

Further, if we're open and frank with each other, and with everyone else, we can spread integrity, respect, and peace. Quakers have a saying, "Let it begin with me."

Integrity will spread outward, in concentric rings, for we are connected with one another.

Strength and growth come from knowing ourselves, knowing what matters for us.

If we respect each other, we will find the way to fit any apparent conflict into a broader system that can accommodate us both.

__________

© 1991 Hazelden Foundation from the books Today's Gift and The Promise of a New Day
 

10/09/2004
 

 
 

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