Monday, 12 July 2010 - Your eyes are a window in to your soul. They too are the windows through which we see the world ourselves. Imagine then if those windows get cracked or broken? If you have to look at life through cracked windows are you still seeing things the way others see them? Do you really see the world around you the way others see? When one person sees blue... is 'blue' the label put to the colour they see and is your version of 'blue' exactly the same?
There isn't any real proof that even the colours we see are the same. So in effect, not only are your eyes your windows to the world, but they are unique to you. Two people see the same movie and one see's a romantic comedy, the other sees a social commentary on artificial insemination. The same two people read a book. One finds the book trite and weak, the other finds great solace in the message. Our eyes are but windows through which we gather information. Our minds are what extrapolate that information and turn it in to our beliefs, our experiences.. our memories.
So what if you have heterochromia (two eyes of different colours)? Do your 'windows' allow you to see both sides? Do you have one window tinted and would that taint/tint your version of the world? Today is Different Coloured Eyes Day. Perhaps it is intended to be a day of appreciating the differences in eye colour, or to appreciate those who have two eyes of different colours. I would suggest that it could be more effective if we were to spend the day appreciating not the difference in the colours, but rather the differences in perception. Each of us has a unique view of the world in which we live.
It isn't uncommon for the world one lives in to go through changes that aren't readily perceivable by others. Your world can change quite drastically merely by adjusting how you process the information that comes in through your eyes. What your eyes see looking out doesn't change, but what others may see looking in might. To truly celebrate Different Coloured Eyes Day, spend time looking in to the eyes of those around you. Don't just register their colour. Go deeper than that... attempt to see the world they way they see the world. It may create for you a deeper understanding of the people you see every day, but never really see.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Cheer up the censored
Sunday, 11 July 2010 - What the beep? It's Sunday already? How the beep did that happen? Wasn't it just Friday a few hours ago? Well, beep, isn't that just the beep? Another weekend, come and gone and beep if I didn't get a beep thing done. I would have taken pictures but the beep black bars are beep to look at.
It's hard to believe that censorship has it's place in the world today. If you were really going to attempt to censor, you would have to censor the conversation at the next table during coffee - and probably your own. You would need to censor the commercials, the football announcers, the cheer leaders, the billboards, the radio, the magazine rack, the galleries, the bus stop ads and pretty much every conversation on the trains (in rush hour and out). The less we censor however, the less we get bothered by the things that once upon a time would have sent congress in to a tizzy and Auntie Mabel to a myocardial infarction. Censorship is a slippery slope we have been trying to scale for decades. Every now and again we make a misstep and slide down the slope a little. Fortunately, we keep getting back up and make up a little bit of ground. But we are still far from the top of that pile of full out, non-beeped fucking bull shit. Oooh... a swear.
In Canada, censorship of books coming in to the country relies on a book falling in to one of four categories (hate literature, treason, obscenity and sedition) and then relies next on the customs officers determination of artistic merit and/or educational value. I want to know how you get that position? In order to do that job effectively, I would assume you can have no religious values, no prejudices, no political affiliation, no attachments to people of the same or opposite sex and do not identify as either male or female, gay, straight, bi or trans-gendered. And what about when the line blurs or moves a little more toward freedom of thought and speech? This line has been continually moving for decades... centuries. As recent as 1962 "Lady Chatterley's Lover" was considered pornographic and banned from entering Canada. You would think that the graphic comic book version would be a more likely target. Is there a graphic novel version? I could maybe force myself to sit down with Lady Chatterley if it had pictures... and video??
Today is Censorship Day or Bowdler's Day. Thomas Bowdler was an English doctor who re-published works by Shakespeare to be more appropriate for women and children. Imagine taking out all the good Elizabethan sex scenes out of Hamlet? Why else would you go see the story of the black Prince of Denmark? (Perhaps that is just the version in my mind... Help!!! I need a censor.) Thom also re-wrote the "Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire" to take all the juicy bits out. The Gladiators were no longer happy Romans.
The act of censoring literature, and subsequently television and motion pictures, became known as Bowdlerizing - or to Bowdlerize. Mr. Bowdler (Senior Censorship??) was born on todays date in 1754. I'm sure if it hadn't been Thom, we would have found another to do the same job. How about Orel Roberts or one of our many high and mighty beeping Popes?
Today, books and magazines are being stopped at the border, so our libraries and books stores are being Bowdlerized, all because the violate somebody's sense of appropriateness. You would have to question the validity of such governmental effort. In today's Internet world, why bother? If you can't get the book at the corner shop, you can always log in and grab the content for yourself. The Internet would have been the bane of Thomas's existence. Go ahead and try to censor this medium. Shit, this blog could be edited. I said a bad word and often suggest it's good to fantasize about 'Hamlet'.
Besides, without the Internet, and porn, and controversial content, how would the lonely people stay connected (or disconnected) with the world? An evening spent with the keyboard could really cheer up some. Today is also Cheer up the Lonely Day. It is likely the Internet is not what is intended by cheering, but let's be honest... who of us doesn't turn to the Internet when we're alone or looking to fill a void from time to time? Hell, maybe this blog fills a void. If that helps cheer up someone feeling alone... then it's worth it. It has been known to fill a void for the writer. Cheers!
It's hard to believe that censorship has it's place in the world today. If you were really going to attempt to censor, you would have to censor the conversation at the next table during coffee - and probably your own. You would need to censor the commercials, the football announcers, the cheer leaders, the billboards, the radio, the magazine rack, the galleries, the bus stop ads and pretty much every conversation on the trains (in rush hour and out). The less we censor however, the less we get bothered by the things that once upon a time would have sent congress in to a tizzy and Auntie Mabel to a myocardial infarction. Censorship is a slippery slope we have been trying to scale for decades. Every now and again we make a misstep and slide down the slope a little. Fortunately, we keep getting back up and make up a little bit of ground. But we are still far from the top of that pile of full out, non-beeped fucking bull shit. Oooh... a swear.
In Canada, censorship of books coming in to the country relies on a book falling in to one of four categories (hate literature, treason, obscenity and sedition) and then relies next on the customs officers determination of artistic merit and/or educational value. I want to know how you get that position? In order to do that job effectively, I would assume you can have no religious values, no prejudices, no political affiliation, no attachments to people of the same or opposite sex and do not identify as either male or female, gay, straight, bi or trans-gendered. And what about when the line blurs or moves a little more toward freedom of thought and speech? This line has been continually moving for decades... centuries. As recent as 1962 "Lady Chatterley's Lover" was considered pornographic and banned from entering Canada. You would think that the graphic comic book version would be a more likely target. Is there a graphic novel version? I could maybe force myself to sit down with Lady Chatterley if it had pictures... and video??
Today is Censorship Day or Bowdler's Day. Thomas Bowdler was an English doctor who re-published works by Shakespeare to be more appropriate for women and children. Imagine taking out all the good Elizabethan sex scenes out of Hamlet? Why else would you go see the story of the black Prince of Denmark? (Perhaps that is just the version in my mind... Help!!! I need a censor.) Thom also re-wrote the "Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire" to take all the juicy bits out. The Gladiators were no longer happy Romans.
The act of censoring literature, and subsequently television and motion pictures, became known as Bowdlerizing - or to Bowdlerize. Mr. Bowdler (Senior Censorship??) was born on todays date in 1754. I'm sure if it hadn't been Thom, we would have found another to do the same job. How about Orel Roberts or one of our many high and mighty beeping Popes?
Today, books and magazines are being stopped at the border, so our libraries and books stores are being Bowdlerized, all because the violate somebody's sense of appropriateness. You would have to question the validity of such governmental effort. In today's Internet world, why bother? If you can't get the book at the corner shop, you can always log in and grab the content for yourself. The Internet would have been the bane of Thomas's existence. Go ahead and try to censor this medium. Shit, this blog could be edited. I said a bad word and often suggest it's good to fantasize about 'Hamlet'.
Besides, without the Internet, and porn, and controversial content, how would the lonely people stay connected (or disconnected) with the world? An evening spent with the keyboard could really cheer up some. Today is also Cheer up the Lonely Day. It is likely the Internet is not what is intended by cheering, but let's be honest... who of us doesn't turn to the Internet when we're alone or looking to fill a void from time to time? Hell, maybe this blog fills a void. If that helps cheer up someone feeling alone... then it's worth it. It has been known to fill a void for the writer. Cheers!
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Ode to a cup of coffee
Saturday, 10 July 2010 - There is a poet inside all of us. This is not what i would consider a thought provoking opening, or for that matter a real meaty start to a posting. It is just so. Don't you know. The truth ignites, And turns on the lights. Ok, ok, that wasn't so good, but what can you expect from me at 0425hrs, a bottle of wine, and a day in the scorching heat? I could have started with "There once was a girl from Nantucket". Seriously, I thought I did ok with that one.
Today is Clerihew Day, names so in honour of the birthday of Edmund Clerihew Bentley. Eddie Bentley did not invent the British luxury car, nor is he the founder of Bentley College in Boston. Eddie was a writer, who, in addition to a few detective novels, invented or rather made popular a four line rhyming poem - often biographical in nature. This short but sweet wee poem became known as a Clerihew. There are several more famous Clerihews out there, but here is mine...
There was a girl from Thunder Bay
Who moved to get away
She now lives on the west coast
She blogs and posts.
So, I haven't fully followed the 'script' as it were. A Clerihew almost always uses just the person's name as the first line, and is in the format of AABB. I got the alphabet part right. It's a start. I could have been Dr. Seuss, but that role was already taken, and my long drawn out, badly rhymed tales of a coati and his rag-tag pack of pals didn't really have a children's audience. Besides, all I could rhyme with Coati was Payote and I'm certain that would put me closer to the Alice in Wonderland stories. The pack of pals are from Colombia, Peru, Belize, and New Mexico. Kind of like Alice in Central America really.
There was likely a real purpose to these four line poems. Edmund Bentley published a book called Biography for Beginners. Imagine getting through 11th grade history and merely having four lines about all the great figures in history? I may have actually stayed awake and remembered who Cantor was and what he was famous for. (I did have to look that one up... he's the infinity guy from math class). Four line chapters would have been brilliant... and would have got me out to the picnic tables so much sooner. Why was History always scheduled before lunch? Never first period - so you couldn't sleep through it 3 days a week, and it was never last period so you could skip out early. No... it was second period and it took the full 75 minutes.
Today is also Hop a Park Day. It is kind of like a hop on hop off tourist bus. You are supposed to spend the day hopping in to one park to enjoy it's spoils, and then move on to another park for whatever it has to offer. I live on the west coast (as my Clerihew says), and as such, could spend the remainder of July hopping parks. There are hundreds of parks in my immediate area, and each has something wonderful to offer. However, as a real city slicker, I get my fill of 'green' on the golf course.
That girl from TBay who moved to the coast
Loves her coffee the most
Log it, burn it, pave it she quotes
Build a Starbucks to tote.
Today is Clerihew Day, names so in honour of the birthday of Edmund Clerihew Bentley. Eddie Bentley did not invent the British luxury car, nor is he the founder of Bentley College in Boston. Eddie was a writer, who, in addition to a few detective novels, invented or rather made popular a four line rhyming poem - often biographical in nature. This short but sweet wee poem became known as a Clerihew. There are several more famous Clerihews out there, but here is mine...
There was a girl from Thunder Bay
Who moved to get away
She now lives on the west coast
She blogs and posts.
So, I haven't fully followed the 'script' as it were. A Clerihew almost always uses just the person's name as the first line, and is in the format of AABB. I got the alphabet part right. It's a start. I could have been Dr. Seuss, but that role was already taken, and my long drawn out, badly rhymed tales of a coati and his rag-tag pack of pals didn't really have a children's audience. Besides, all I could rhyme with Coati was Payote and I'm certain that would put me closer to the Alice in Wonderland stories. The pack of pals are from Colombia, Peru, Belize, and New Mexico. Kind of like Alice in Central America really.
There was likely a real purpose to these four line poems. Edmund Bentley published a book called Biography for Beginners. Imagine getting through 11th grade history and merely having four lines about all the great figures in history? I may have actually stayed awake and remembered who Cantor was and what he was famous for. (I did have to look that one up... he's the infinity guy from math class). Four line chapters would have been brilliant... and would have got me out to the picnic tables so much sooner. Why was History always scheduled before lunch? Never first period - so you couldn't sleep through it 3 days a week, and it was never last period so you could skip out early. No... it was second period and it took the full 75 minutes.
Today is also Hop a Park Day. It is kind of like a hop on hop off tourist bus. You are supposed to spend the day hopping in to one park to enjoy it's spoils, and then move on to another park for whatever it has to offer. I live on the west coast (as my Clerihew says), and as such, could spend the remainder of July hopping parks. There are hundreds of parks in my immediate area, and each has something wonderful to offer. However, as a real city slicker, I get my fill of 'green' on the golf course.
That girl from TBay who moved to the coast
Loves her coffee the most
Log it, burn it, pave it she quotes
Build a Starbucks to tote.
Friday, July 9, 2010
In the dog house again..... yippee!!
Friday, 9 July 2010 - So there you are, hanging out on the front lawn, watching the world go past. You idly lift your head every now and again, and wonder... "will I ever get that roof replaced?" and "the doorway is looking a little ragged". When you start envisioning new paint, new eaves, a larger porch, and better landscaping, you know that it is July and it really is time to get started on those repairs. After all, if you chew on the door jams any more, you won't need a new doorway, you'll need a garage door and a remote opener. Your great room could become a drive in. Rex himself would be embarassed to have guests over. Rex, for those who don't remember, is my Chesapeake Bay Retriever, and really quite particular.
July is Dog House Repairs Month. There is the Dog's house, and there is the dog house. One may be more proverbial than the other. So that got me to thinking... how would one make repairs to the proverbial dog house? I could live nicely in the dog house. But my dog house would require a pool table, 60" plasma, the latest Xbox complete with pink controller, a subscription to NFL TV, a well stocked wine fridge, and a scotch cupboard (which a friend tells me has seatbelts pre-installed). Perhaps my idea of a dog house is actually more a den of iniquity... a place of borderline ill repute... basically - a place my friends would feel comfortable. It's a home like structure, and Rex would be welcome as well.
There is the 'dog house' where one goes when one has done something wrong, unacceptable, shameful... like leaving the lid off the peanut butter or forgetting to pick up that box of tampons. Then there is the 'dog house' where one has done something really bad... like say... the neighbour. That dog house does not require repairs. That doghouse should be leaky, dank, the springs should be coming out of the sofabed, and it should be not in the garage, but a lean-to off the side of the garage. The dog house I'm talking about is the former.
In my perfect world, when one deserves to be in the dog house, I think the punishment should be NOT being in the dog house. You, hunny, can stay in the house with whatever DIY disaster you have created, and I shall go to the dog house. Play a bit of Halo, embibe in a wee dram, watch a game, read a book, have some friends over.... The punishment can be a lack of reward. And when things are done, and the toilet seat is down... then you too can enjoy the dog house. The strongest form of behaviour modification is a random positive reinforcement. It is why gambling is so good at creating gamblers. There is always the chance of something paying off. Think about this one... if the dog house was a good place, and you could go there when good things are done. If you make the right repairs to the dog house, I bet you can use this den to increase the good behaviours.
So when you are looking at Fido's digs and you want to build him a better porch, a leak-proof roof, and some landscaping... consider too fixing up the other dog house. It would almost be like obedience training if managed correctly. If this is a little over the top, you could always reward with cookies. Today is Sugar Cookie Day. It might be a little easier to whip up a batch of sugar cookies than it will be to get the flat screen installed. Personally, I would have to take the shoes out of the oven, and then where would I put them? Thought.... a shoe closet in my dog house!!!
July is Dog House Repairs Month. There is the Dog's house, and there is the dog house. One may be more proverbial than the other. So that got me to thinking... how would one make repairs to the proverbial dog house? I could live nicely in the dog house. But my dog house would require a pool table, 60" plasma, the latest Xbox complete with pink controller, a subscription to NFL TV, a well stocked wine fridge, and a scotch cupboard (which a friend tells me has seatbelts pre-installed). Perhaps my idea of a dog house is actually more a den of iniquity... a place of borderline ill repute... basically - a place my friends would feel comfortable. It's a home like structure, and Rex would be welcome as well.
There is the 'dog house' where one goes when one has done something wrong, unacceptable, shameful... like leaving the lid off the peanut butter or forgetting to pick up that box of tampons. Then there is the 'dog house' where one has done something really bad... like say... the neighbour. That dog house does not require repairs. That doghouse should be leaky, dank, the springs should be coming out of the sofabed, and it should be not in the garage, but a lean-to off the side of the garage. The dog house I'm talking about is the former.
In my perfect world, when one deserves to be in the dog house, I think the punishment should be NOT being in the dog house. You, hunny, can stay in the house with whatever DIY disaster you have created, and I shall go to the dog house. Play a bit of Halo, embibe in a wee dram, watch a game, read a book, have some friends over.... The punishment can be a lack of reward. And when things are done, and the toilet seat is down... then you too can enjoy the dog house. The strongest form of behaviour modification is a random positive reinforcement. It is why gambling is so good at creating gamblers. There is always the chance of something paying off. Think about this one... if the dog house was a good place, and you could go there when good things are done. If you make the right repairs to the dog house, I bet you can use this den to increase the good behaviours.
So when you are looking at Fido's digs and you want to build him a better porch, a leak-proof roof, and some landscaping... consider too fixing up the other dog house. It would almost be like obedience training if managed correctly. If this is a little over the top, you could always reward with cookies. Today is Sugar Cookie Day. It might be a little easier to whip up a batch of sugar cookies than it will be to get the flat screen installed. Personally, I would have to take the shoes out of the oven, and then where would I put them? Thought.... a shoe closet in my dog house!!!
Thursday, July 8, 2010
SCUD missiles and the enemy
Thursday, 8 July 2010 - There are few things in life that allow you a total escape. The iPod up high and your running shoes on the pavement... that is an escape. Sunshine and a good spy novel... that's an escape only if you shut off your phones and can find silence. But load up the Xbox or the PS3, pull out the pink controller (yes, the controller is pink), load your weapons, and shoot the shit out of anything that moves... that qualifies.
I don't see the lines of video gaming and the real world blurring, but the video game world can sure blurr the real one if only for an hour or two. Who can worry about laundry when there are aliens attacking? Mail to go through? Not while there are legions of tanks to move across the land. Paper work? Bah... I have a bout with Evander in a few minutes. Put up your dukes, lets get down to it. Yes, the older I get, the more I appreciate the simplicity of the escape. Did I mention I'm a Rock God in my video world? I can hammer a bass line with the best of the Geddy Lee's and Flea's. Of course I only have 5 buttons and a toggle for strings, but I Rock. The screen tells me so.
In the world of first person shooter games, I am usually tagged as bait. Seriously lacking in weaponry skills, but for a girl... I could be so much worse. And really, in team games, I'm ok running in to the open in hopes of drawing out the enemy. Everyone needs a sacrificial lamb. I only hope that the rest of my teammates are 12 year old crater faced teens with a penchant for Coke and pizza pie... well and A. Today is Video Games Day. I could see this being a full weekend, a week, or even a summer. One day? Seems too small for such a massive industry. There is a National Video Games Day coming... but we have to wait for September. I can wait, but I will not let this one pass me by. I may even hook up the Wii and take some time on the tennis court and bowling alley. I wonder if at my age I can call in with Carpal Tunnel and stay home from work? I guess once I hit publish on this post that might be a little more challenging. Do you think anyone from the office actually reads this? I gotta hope not some days. Other days, I think they might find out there is more to me than my evil exterior. (Really... there is more than the evil exterior... there is the evil interior).
Today is also SCUD Day - Savour the Comic... Unplug the Drama. I don't know much about the reasoning or the meaning behind such a day, but it sounds like a good reason to kick back and find a good laugh in anything that comes your way. Drama? Who has time for drama? Besides, I was told by a very good friend that I only had until today to live in my drama. This is the line in the sand that was drawn for me. It may not be as relevant for anyone else, though I am willing to bet that every one of us has something that we could draw a line in the sand about. If you do, today is the day. Drop the drama in your life and find the inner comic... the humour of it all. Dig deep if you must. Find a reason to laugh at yourself and at the 'drama' around you. How serious can we take this life anyway? We start bald and toothless, and after growing out lovely locks and good strong teeth, we go back to that starting state - only without the cute factor. That alone should be worth a giggle. Think about it, if we could live life backwards, we would get more tolerable to be around, and just get cuter. Think SCUD... find the funny. And if all else fails, launch a SCUD at the attackers.
I don't see the lines of video gaming and the real world blurring, but the video game world can sure blurr the real one if only for an hour or two. Who can worry about laundry when there are aliens attacking? Mail to go through? Not while there are legions of tanks to move across the land. Paper work? Bah... I have a bout with Evander in a few minutes. Put up your dukes, lets get down to it. Yes, the older I get, the more I appreciate the simplicity of the escape. Did I mention I'm a Rock God in my video world? I can hammer a bass line with the best of the Geddy Lee's and Flea's. Of course I only have 5 buttons and a toggle for strings, but I Rock. The screen tells me so.
In the world of first person shooter games, I am usually tagged as bait. Seriously lacking in weaponry skills, but for a girl... I could be so much worse. And really, in team games, I'm ok running in to the open in hopes of drawing out the enemy. Everyone needs a sacrificial lamb. I only hope that the rest of my teammates are 12 year old crater faced teens with a penchant for Coke and pizza pie... well and A. Today is Video Games Day. I could see this being a full weekend, a week, or even a summer. One day? Seems too small for such a massive industry. There is a National Video Games Day coming... but we have to wait for September. I can wait, but I will not let this one pass me by. I may even hook up the Wii and take some time on the tennis court and bowling alley. I wonder if at my age I can call in with Carpal Tunnel and stay home from work? I guess once I hit publish on this post that might be a little more challenging. Do you think anyone from the office actually reads this? I gotta hope not some days. Other days, I think they might find out there is more to me than my evil exterior. (Really... there is more than the evil exterior... there is the evil interior).
Today is also SCUD Day - Savour the Comic... Unplug the Drama. I don't know much about the reasoning or the meaning behind such a day, but it sounds like a good reason to kick back and find a good laugh in anything that comes your way. Drama? Who has time for drama? Besides, I was told by a very good friend that I only had until today to live in my drama. This is the line in the sand that was drawn for me. It may not be as relevant for anyone else, though I am willing to bet that every one of us has something that we could draw a line in the sand about. If you do, today is the day. Drop the drama in your life and find the inner comic... the humour of it all. Dig deep if you must. Find a reason to laugh at yourself and at the 'drama' around you. How serious can we take this life anyway? We start bald and toothless, and after growing out lovely locks and good strong teeth, we go back to that starting state - only without the cute factor. That alone should be worth a giggle. Think about it, if we could live life backwards, we would get more tolerable to be around, and just get cuter. Think SCUD... find the funny. And if all else fails, launch a SCUD at the attackers.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Yes, those pants do make your ass look HUGE.
Wednesday, 7 July 2010 - To tell you the truth, I sometimes write these blogs days ahead, or days behind. I would like to blame the blogging system for the late posts, but alas, I have to be honest. It is me. I get rapt up with the other crap in my life, and rather than sitting down to write, I post-pone in... the last three days posts... were poned. They were Post pones. Ok, that's enough pun ishment for one blog.
Seriously, today is Tell the Truth Day. This is the one day to be truthful in everything. If someone asks you "do these jeans make my butt look big", tell them the truth. Say "gee, I do not find that anything I say to that will make you happy, therefore, I refuse to answer for fear of lying or upsetting". That should be smooth enough. And... in the ensuing argument that will no doubt follow... do not say ANYTHING about her mother unless it is the truth. No wait... do not say ANYTHING about her mother.
But perhaps the toughest person you will have to be truthful with today is yourself. Lying to save us from our own feelings, emotions and fears is something that we all get very good at doing. Indeed we get so good at it, that we don't know we are telling ourselves little white fibs just to get through the day. Do you deserve the chocolate bar calling to you at the till? Of course you do, after all you only had a salad today (with steak, bluecheese, nuts, fried onions with a side of garlic bread). Can I spend the day sitting in the sun with a book? Certainly - you walked everywhere yesterday (to the grocery store three blocks away, the coffee shop that was on the way home, and you did walk down to the mailbox... 1347 steps).
These are the little lies we don't even register. What about the big lies we tell ourselves? I for one, have a very tough exterior. Those around me tell me I am a strong, independent woman who is smart and capable. Inside, I know I am afraid, I need more support than I will ask for, and I second guess everything I do because it probably isn't being done right or with enough thought. In reality, I am not anything like the persona that people seem to believe. Does that make me the consummate liar? Or does that make me human? Do we all lie to ourselves, and about ourselves to make living in this world easier? Do we only lie about the things that we are sure aren't hurting anyone else? In telling these lies to protect the innocent, do we hurt ourselves?
There are so many common little white lies that we hear every day that I think we've come to accept them not for being lies, but for something else. Perhaps they have become filler in our conversations or a way to boost oneself. How about the gift you opened last Christmas that you had zero idea what it was or what it would be used for and you said "Thank you, I love it". Lie. Truth... I have no idea what this is, or what it does. "No officer, I have no idea how fast I was going." Lie. Truth... Shit, I was 25 over the speed limit. I hope he didn't clock me at the worst of it. "I am sure I sent that to you. Let me look in my email." Lie. Truth... I hadn't even started it. It just seemed so insignificant to me. "It wasn't me." Lie. Truth... it was me... it just wasn't worth taking credit for. "I am so glad you called, no.. I wasn't sleeping." Lie again. Truth... I was sound asleep, and I don't know that I even remember the conversation. It must not have been very scintillating.
Well, today is going to be about telling the truth... to myself. I will admit to the chocolate milk on my cereal. I will admit to standing still on the escalators and will attempt to take only the stairs. I will not crap on myself if I don't, but I will not let me off the hook with a little white lie. I too will be honest with those around me. I will not say it will be easy... that would be a lie. I will attempt to protect your feelings, but won't feed you a handful of crap. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not ask me if you look like you lost any weight, or if the pants do anything for your backside. You don't want to know, and I don't want to tell you the truth.
Seriously, today is Tell the Truth Day. This is the one day to be truthful in everything. If someone asks you "do these jeans make my butt look big", tell them the truth. Say "gee, I do not find that anything I say to that will make you happy, therefore, I refuse to answer for fear of lying or upsetting". That should be smooth enough. And... in the ensuing argument that will no doubt follow... do not say ANYTHING about her mother unless it is the truth. No wait... do not say ANYTHING about her mother.
But perhaps the toughest person you will have to be truthful with today is yourself. Lying to save us from our own feelings, emotions and fears is something that we all get very good at doing. Indeed we get so good at it, that we don't know we are telling ourselves little white fibs just to get through the day. Do you deserve the chocolate bar calling to you at the till? Of course you do, after all you only had a salad today (with steak, bluecheese, nuts, fried onions with a side of garlic bread). Can I spend the day sitting in the sun with a book? Certainly - you walked everywhere yesterday (to the grocery store three blocks away, the coffee shop that was on the way home, and you did walk down to the mailbox... 1347 steps).
These are the little lies we don't even register. What about the big lies we tell ourselves? I for one, have a very tough exterior. Those around me tell me I am a strong, independent woman who is smart and capable. Inside, I know I am afraid, I need more support than I will ask for, and I second guess everything I do because it probably isn't being done right or with enough thought. In reality, I am not anything like the persona that people seem to believe. Does that make me the consummate liar? Or does that make me human? Do we all lie to ourselves, and about ourselves to make living in this world easier? Do we only lie about the things that we are sure aren't hurting anyone else? In telling these lies to protect the innocent, do we hurt ourselves?
There are so many common little white lies that we hear every day that I think we've come to accept them not for being lies, but for something else. Perhaps they have become filler in our conversations or a way to boost oneself. How about the gift you opened last Christmas that you had zero idea what it was or what it would be used for and you said "Thank you, I love it". Lie. Truth... I have no idea what this is, or what it does. "No officer, I have no idea how fast I was going." Lie. Truth... Shit, I was 25 over the speed limit. I hope he didn't clock me at the worst of it. "I am sure I sent that to you. Let me look in my email." Lie. Truth... I hadn't even started it. It just seemed so insignificant to me. "It wasn't me." Lie. Truth... it was me... it just wasn't worth taking credit for. "I am so glad you called, no.. I wasn't sleeping." Lie again. Truth... I was sound asleep, and I don't know that I even remember the conversation. It must not have been very scintillating.
Well, today is going to be about telling the truth... to myself. I will admit to the chocolate milk on my cereal. I will admit to standing still on the escalators and will attempt to take only the stairs. I will not crap on myself if I don't, but I will not let me off the hook with a little white lie. I too will be honest with those around me. I will not say it will be easy... that would be a lie. I will attempt to protect your feelings, but won't feed you a handful of crap. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not ask me if you look like you lost any weight, or if the pants do anything for your backside. You don't want to know, and I don't want to tell you the truth.
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