Honesty is the Key to Everything

What is honesty? Well here’re the dictionary definitions:

1. The quality or fact of being honest; uprightness and fairness.

2. Truthfulness, sincerity, or frankness.

3. Freedom from deceit or fraud.

Those are the ways we would define it in an essay, or even a speech; but I am not here to BS you and create a false sense of security; I am going to be as blunt as possible.

There is no possible way in HELL that I’m referring to either of those fine definitions; I’m talking about the one that we repel most often: our own. We choose to seclude ourselves form the outside world without actually confining ourselves. It is as if we want to live two lives at once; there’s the honest side, and then there’s the “honest” side. You all know what I’m talking about. Truthfully enough, the only person you’re lying to is yourself.

The kind of person I’m associating to is the one that A) Lies for no apparent reason or B) Lies to him/herself to elude the elementary fact that he/she doesn’t have such a grand life. Although very different, they are both only hurting the individual at hand, and ruining his/her life.

Type A lying is, considered by many, a disorder. For some reason, they spark their own lives with daring adventures and meteoric facts that do nothing but give one measly moment of glory which will be forgotten once that second ticks. There is no benefit gained from it; in the long run, it will probably only cause social disbelief in the subject, and he/she will not be trusted. ‘Side effects may include: Loss of friends, disbelief of everyone around you, and crying. Using just a bit of logic, these “exquisite” liars are easy to spot. When you call him/her a liar right to his/her face, be sure to expect a negative reaction. Hey, it’s not your fault that you don’t believe that trip to the store turned into a dragon slaughtering, or witch burning, or whatever kids do these days! In all seriousness though, lying to oneself is just another way to create a false sphere for people around you; another way of getting pity from others. They just want others to feel sorry for them and their more-than-perfect lives. It’s a sort of transition to a new, falsified life, to relish the audience with majestic stories; nothing more.

I feel like I’m diversifying to blood types, but type B are the ones that lie to themselves to create a false reality. It is a scrutinizing process upon oneself to believe in his/her own lies. A mental battle, in a sense, that is fought down to tears sometimes. It is the brain’s reaction, for some, as an alternative to suicide, or just an excuse for being plain lazy and not WANTING to change the life of oneself. This form of lying is, by far, the most pathetic thing people can do to themselves. I mean, what are we living in alternate realities or something?! ‘Enter… THE MATRIX! Where your whole world is a lie!’ It’s more sad than anything.

Lying to others and lying to oneself are two completely different stories. Type B liars, from my perspective, are much worse than type A. Why so? Well because type A liars can always find new people and start out fresh, while type B lie so frequently that, after a while, those persons actually start believing their false preachments. Either way you look at it though, lying is just awful.

If you’re honest you won’t have any problems, I guarantee it! Sure sometimes it’s difficult to confess, but you will feel amazing about it afterwards. You shouldn’t have to live in a world of lies, and you shouldn’t have to fear what others think. Tell them the god-honest truth, and if they don’t like it, then obviously they’re not your kind of people. Honesty fills a person with pride, knowing that he/she doesn’t have anything to hide. One lie leads to another, and another, and so on and so forth. Even white lies you shouldn’t have to tell, because you still have to live with your guilty conscience. Honesty is the key to everything, no doubt about it!

The Key(s) to True Happiness

Why can’t anyone be happy with what they have?
Do your possessions own you?
Stop and smell the roses…

Why can’t anyone be happy with what they have?

I have pondered over this question for years now, and still no answer. Nothing I have done (and probably nothing I will do) can lead me to uncover the answer. It has boggled my mind since the first time I tried becoming enlightened. The only conclusion I came up with is that it is in human nature to WANT. It must be something neurological, because it is etched into our brains. I cannot rid myself of this curse, no matter what I do. What should I do? What can anyone do? No one is ever satisfied with what they have. Think about it: every time you get something, you want something else. An endless cycle, and it is truly impossible to stop. There is a bottomless void and it is only filled by possessions (until you die). If anybody has ever come that far let me know. There is no logical explanation to this (none that I’ve found), and so I am just going to stick with my earlier statement: it is in human nature to behave this way; uncontrollable.

I have been pushing forwards, trying to make it better, and I have progressed a bit, but not enough to give up all worldly possessions. There are some things I just can’t let go of. I am certainly not willing to go as far as the Buddhist monks and isolate myself, meditating for hours and hours on end. My main point is to just TRY not caring about your items as much. In the end all they do is blind you from true happiness.

Do your possessions own you?

You are a slave to what you own. Charge your ipod, water your plants, make your bed, pay your bills, take care of your car. Now I’m not telling you to just find the closest stranger and give all of your belongings away; no. All I’m saying is that there could be more freedom involved. Stop making your bed, no one cares how neat it is, and who do you have to impress? Get a crappier car; then it won’t matter if it gets damaged. You get a couple scratches on it, no big deal! Buy a cheaper house, or move into an apartment. Less payments, more money in your pocket, for things like vacationing.

Just downgrade a bit. Like Tyler Durden always says, “Things you own end up owning you.” A lovely Fight Club quote. Amazing movie, for those of you who haven’t seen it. It’s a must if the only thing you want is to NOT want.

Stop and smell the roses.

Try and be happy with what you have. Take the good from the bad. Try to take a negative and turn it into a positive. Stop and admire the world around you; the clouds, the sun, your family, a warm meal, the roof over your head. Be grateful and hold things most dear to you close at hand. Have the ability to let that which does not matter truly slide. Forgive and forget. Don’t spend all of your time troubling about the past. It will not help you whatsoever. Worrying about the future won’t either. Mapping out all possible outcomes is just crazy, and it’s all a very deep state of paranoia. The future is just a projection of what YOU think, not the actual outcome. Just relax, sit back, and enjoy life. No point in trying to stop something that is out of your control.

Conclusion:

– Be happy with what you have.

– Don’t let your possessions own you.

– Stop trying to impress people.

– Calm down and let life be the way it’s supposed to be.

– Stop trying to control everything.