Honesty and Integrity

Courage and Consequences

“Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world...would do this, it would change the earth.”

William Faulkner

We live in an era when truth-telling is unfashionable. It has always been the case that we bend the truth to serve our own needs, but today, outright lying is out in the open; everyone knows and few seem to care. Some studies show that the average person lies more than one hundred times a day. Most of those are little white lies told to keep from being rude and hurting feelings, but nowadays, we've elevated lying to an art form. There always have been, and, no doubt always will be, people who stretch the truth, who carry hyperbole to its outermost edge, but it's never been considered a competitive sport as it is today. Honesty and contrition are described as weakness, an embarrassment. It makes me sad.

I did a little bit of research about honesty and its place in society, and here are some quotes I found that seem important. Mahatma Gandhi said, “Truth never damages a cause that is just.” Franz Kafka wrote, “...don't edit your own soul according to the fashion.” That seems particularly cogent for this moment. A couple of quotes that I especially like are: “Integrity is telling myself the truth. Honesty is telling the truth to other people.” (Spencer Johnson) And, “Honesty is more than not lying. It is truth telling, truth speaking, truth living, and truth loving.” (James E. Faust) I have yet to find a quote that describes constant lying as a good thing, especially when done at the expense of others.

Suffice it to say, I'd like to see us get back to honesty. It's not that I never tell a lie. I do, as do we all. Sometimes lying is necessary, especially when telling the truth would needlessly injure an innocent person. But lying as a lifestyle is simply soul-killing to the one who does it. There are karmic consequence for lying just as there are for violence and greed. The law of karma applies equally to the rich and powerful as to the poor and powerless. Here's what Alexander Solzhenitsyn said about it: “The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie. 'One word of truth outweighs the world.'” Let's be courageous today.

                                                              In the Spirit,

                                                                   Jane