the moment of truth

That’s the name of a game show on FOX in yesterday's headlines. First, in case you’re like me and don’t watch much tv, the premise is a person is asked a bunch of personal questions while attached to a polygraph machine prior to the show. Then, in front of an audience, they are asked a question, the suspense mounts as they ‘ponder’ the answer…they finally give it, then another long drawn out suspense-filled pause, and then a voice from above announces whether they are telling the truth and then they get a cash reward. The point is for them to answer these questions in front of their loved ones with the questions getting harder and harder as the stakes go up. And this week, one family found out how far those stakes went.

I didn’t see that show, but there are plenty of places to read about it on the net. I did watch a couple of minutes of it the first week it came out though. At that time I remember asking myself the question, do I tell the truth in my life? What would others not know about me? Are there any skeletons in the closet? How honest am I with myself? What about you, are you completely honest with everyone about everything in your life? Are you honest with yourself? Chances are probably not.

For most of us, honesty is a strong value we strive to live by…and it’s one of the most challenging. Have you ever been asked “how are you?” and it was just easier to say ‘ok’, ‘pretty good’, ‘not bad’, when in fact last night you and your partner got into a huge fight and you hardly slept and are feeling anxious. That’s one way we don’t tell the truth. Or maybe it is just easier to hide those CDs you bought or not tell your partner you're hanging out with friends after work.

Give yourself the challenge of being completely honest for a day. That means being completely honest with yourself too. How do you feel? What is your body telling you? Are you feeling sad, happy, disappointed, fed up, frustrated and not telling the truth? Are you stuffing any of those emotions and not being honest with yourself in any way. Are you being dishonest by remaining in a relationship that is not working….and worse yet, for the sake of the kids?

There are many areas of our life where we don’t tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help us. It’s important to be honest with the one’s we choose to be in relationship with and by that I also mean with ourselves. We say no when it is in our best interest. We ask for our 100%. We listen to ourselves and if we don’t feel like doing something we convey that. We listen and we act from a compassionate and loving space for ourselves first. Then acting from a place of compassion automatically happens with others. We can’t receive what we are not willing to give ourselves and accept about ourselves first.

It’s unfortunate what happened with that family from the show, but it is a good lesson for all of us in our lives. So, let’s not be quick to judge someone else’s lie. I believe we would all be a lot happier if we simply made choices that were in alignment with what was going on inside ourselves. If we simply were able to accept and embrace our own Truth and live from that place called integrity without compromising it for anyone or anything.

And wouldn’t it be wonderful to inspire others, through our actions, to also live in their Truth!