The other day I read some words in a post that truly resonated: “I’m not afraid of the truth. I’m not afraid of being honest and raw and downright brutal with how I choose to hammer words out of my mouth without any coat of sugary bullshit."
In addition to this, the next day, I found a fully wrapped fortune cookie on the side of the road (sounds like a line in a song). I was thrilled and I took it home—well actually, first I took a picture of it. I went inside and with great anticipation I opened it waiting for this great mystical message. The fortune cookie read, ‘"You tend to be straightforward and honest." I’m not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed. I was hoping for something with a little more depth. I’ve learned that Universe throws us what we need to learn in order to grow, not always what we asked for. But these two little messages finally put to rest a ball and chain that I had been carrying around for years.
Tact has never been my strong suit. I’ve spent most of my life fighting it. Speaking the truth has caused conflict to follow me. But it also caused great conflict within myself. I thought there was something wrong with me. I have gone to many workshops and seminars trying to find the right words, the right way.
Bottom line: Most people don’t know what to do with the truth; they seem to fear it. Is it they fear some truth about themselves will be exposed? It seems everyone thinks things, but no one ever says it. We complain about things but we won’t use our words to express it. We will talk in secret with someone else that we know is also afraid to speak out. This type of behaviour is also known as gossip or just downright complaining.
This is not how we initiate change or growth. Sometimes we just have to talk about the proverbial elephant in the room. Sometimes we have to ask the hard questions. And yes, sometimes we just need to be able to speak without a filter.
I was never meant to be any other way and in fact speaking the truth is my gift, not a curse. I was meant to speak the truth, but society is not trained this way. There is a right way and wrong way to say things. You must be sure not offend. You must take everyone’s feelings into consideration. We have to pre-plan everything we say, there is no spontaneity left in the art of conversation.
In a world that is so fake, is it not refreshing to hear the truth. Plain and simple with as few words as possible so as not to create misunderstandings. Direct and to the point, not all the ‘pussyfooting’ around the meat and potatoes of it. When we do this we dilute the message.
As long as no one has bad intentions, truth is always best.
On a side note: The fortune cookie had a series of numbers on it. Guess what I did? That’s right, I bought a lottery ticket!
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