Truth is underrated

I spent the evening celebrating a friend's birthday and she commented as we were leaving that, although she may not really like what her friends might say to her, she knows it will always be the honest truth and that she feels she can always be honest with us right back--even if we don't want to hear it. That made me think how lucky we really are to have that relationship and how truth itself is often underrated.

Let's face it, we live in a society where nothing is just the bare bones honest truth. You can't get a factual news report these days without some sort of spin attached to it. You can't even just get fired anymore, it's always "insert explanation here." So, why would it be any surprise that we can't even be brutally truthful with our friends and family?

Come on, how many times have you really wanted to say, "You know what, I'd see you but your kids are a nightmare and if I invite you over they're going to be running all over my house?" Or, "Ok,that skirt is absolutely NOT cute, as a matter of fact it makes your hips looks twice as big--A-line is not for you"; "No, that doesn't make you look bigger, you're just fat." ; "Ok, I would explain it to you, but you're not going to listen to me and just interrupt the whole time I'm talking, so why don't I just shut up now and let you tell me what it is that I'm supposed to be thinking?"; or lastly "I don't know how you got to be in the position you're in right now, because you're an idiot, and you must have just slept with someone who promoted you."

But of course we're not that rude, and some of us like paying bills--but, wouldn't it just be really, really liberating to just be able to just tell it like it is--and get it off your chest? Think about it for a second, there has to be someone in your life, you would LOVE to be brutally honest with, if for no other reason than you really think he or she should know the truth so they can fix whatever it is they're not seeing.

Although, I appreciate being polite and social graces and all those lovely things, unfortunately, they really don't allow for much self-improvement. To that end, grown-ups never really get to develop and grow and mature and become better people in the world. Instead, they stay stuck in the same place they've always been and brood and become worse and worse as they age. (Spend any time with a small child and they'll tell you how they see it--quite bluntly as a matter of fact.)

So, as I drove home post party, I thought to myself how lucky I am to have the friends that I have. Because, it is a credit to our relationship, that they can tell me flat out truths about me and I to them. If you know me personally, you know that I tend to suffer from what my husband affectionately refers to as "mad mouth disease", but hey, at least I'm honest and you know where you stand at all times. As, they say...the truth will set you free.