HONESTY!

Honesty- may well be the most difficult moral challenge facing any us.

Honesty with ourselves- with each other-with our higher power. Honesty eludes so many of us because we are simply afraid to tell the truth. Plain and simple--we are afraid to tell the truth. Who knows why or where the fear comes from that leads to the dishonesty...but walls go up and lies lay the foundation and the future is fueled by false fantasies of what we want to believe is true--when deep down inside we know that we are lying.

There's often no pre-meditation...no planning involved...no overt decision to be covert about the facts..The little white lies just roll out of our mouths, cloud our minds and our memories, until we begin to believe the mysterious tall tales and the seemingly innocuous remarks that are in fact outrageously outlandish lies.

Some of the most honest women I know, tonight-honestly shared the dishonesty of their former lives--with a mixture of laughter, disbelief and absolute-relief. It was contagious...listening to one human being cleanse themselves of their past imperfections and false facades. I chuckled thinking about my own blurred view of me--that's right--of the girl writing this blog. It used to scare me--looking at me...until I learned that our fear is usually greater than the reality of what we are facing.

So honestly--if you're able--just think about yourself...your view of yourself, your actions, your reactions...your feelings and your fantasies...How many of you really honestly know the real you-what makes you tick..and explode...or talk- when you want to implode...Honestly--how many times do you willingly sit down and take your personal inventory...so that you can get to the heart of who you are--instead of just living with the person you've become?

Seeing who we are--the good, the bad and the ugly...can be a little unnerving at first...but the more we face the reflection in the mirror...the easier it becomes to accept the truth...while at the same time--let go of the lies.

Honesty goes hand in hand with freedom...when we are honest with ourselves and others...we learn a freedom and a new way of life that we never imagined possible...and we find out--quite by accident...that honesty is not only the best policy--it leads to the most liberating, lovable life!