A few good men... or few good men
We accost people for lying to us. We say we want the truth. We say that we ourselves are honest. But, perhaps the truth is that we can't actually handle the truth. Phrases I hear often when I tell the story of my journey are "I'm better off not knowing." Or, "I'd rather not know." Even "I don't want to find something like that out!"
I get it. Life is easier when it's pretty. Lies are easy to accept as the truth when we decide that it's easier just to believe what we are told than to investigate any further. As long as I believe it to be true, then it's true. Who wants the shadow of doubt cast over the comfort of the life you've always known anyway?
However, the truth is the truth... whether we can handle it or not. Like it or not. We are who we are and we are related to whomever we are related. There may be people who loved us as their own even when we were not. Sometimes it was out of sacrifice and other times it was out of ignorance. Perhaps they themselves believed a lie. Unfortunately, the truth may be that if people who love you like you are family knew that you were not family... they may treat you like an outsider. Then, people who find out you are family may or may not like that truth either.
Some people may have found themselves on the hurting end of rejection (as it doesn't tend to hurt when you are the one doing the rejecting) because of the truth. Maybe a new found sibling wants nothing to do with the intrusion of you, the living evidence of a secret affair.
We can't handle the truth sometimes. But, the truth ain't the truth because we accept it. It's the truth because it's the truth. Like it or not. That's the truth. It may be easier to live a lie, less messy not to go ruffling around in the past, but it's still a lie.
You think you can handle the truth?
We are all here, none of us by our own choices. Some of us not even by the choices of our parents. Some of us are born out of and into love. Others into secrecy, shame and regret. We are born rich and poor. Healthy and sick. Wanted and unwanted.
Out of marriage and wedlock. Voluntarily and involuntarily. We all breathe the same air and we share the same space. You can't tell us apart. We are in the same family and we have the same blood running through our veins.
But, we sometimes want to live these lies like everything is idyllic. We think there has to be something special about us and we want others to be convinced of it. That we are somehow noble. That we come from good stock. That there is no shame in our family lines. That life always went how it was 'supposed' to go and that we are the evidence of that.
Yet, we all die. The same death. The rich and the poor. The wanted and the unwanted. The healthy and the sick. Voluntarily and involuntarily. It's all the same. It's coming to us all. We can hide from reality all we want. We can reject the truth or accept it. The result is the same. We all die in the end. Not knowing the truth is not going to change that. Neither is knowing it. But we still will live a lie and try to convince others to do the same because we are all trying to be a few good men. Or perhaps there are just few good men. And even less who can handle the truth.
I get it. Life is easier when it's pretty. Lies are easy to accept as the truth when we decide that it's easier just to believe what we are told than to investigate any further. As long as I believe it to be true, then it's true. Who wants the shadow of doubt cast over the comfort of the life you've always known anyway?
However, the truth is the truth... whether we can handle it or not. Like it or not. We are who we are and we are related to whomever we are related. There may be people who loved us as their own even when we were not. Sometimes it was out of sacrifice and other times it was out of ignorance. Perhaps they themselves believed a lie. Unfortunately, the truth may be that if people who love you like you are family knew that you were not family... they may treat you like an outsider. Then, people who find out you are family may or may not like that truth either.
Some people may have found themselves on the hurting end of rejection (as it doesn't tend to hurt when you are the one doing the rejecting) because of the truth. Maybe a new found sibling wants nothing to do with the intrusion of you, the living evidence of a secret affair.
We can't handle the truth sometimes. But, the truth ain't the truth because we accept it. It's the truth because it's the truth. Like it or not. That's the truth. It may be easier to live a lie, less messy not to go ruffling around in the past, but it's still a lie.
You think you can handle the truth?
We are all here, none of us by our own choices. Some of us not even by the choices of our parents. Some of us are born out of and into love. Others into secrecy, shame and regret. We are born rich and poor. Healthy and sick. Wanted and unwanted.
But, we sometimes want to live these lies like everything is idyllic. We think there has to be something special about us and we want others to be convinced of it. That we are somehow noble. That we come from good stock. That there is no shame in our family lines. That life always went how it was 'supposed' to go and that we are the evidence of that.
Yet, we all die. The same death. The rich and the poor. The wanted and the unwanted. The healthy and the sick. Voluntarily and involuntarily. It's all the same. It's coming to us all. We can hide from reality all we want. We can reject the truth or accept it. The result is the same. We all die in the end. Not knowing the truth is not going to change that. Neither is knowing it. But we still will live a lie and try to convince others to do the same because we are all trying to be a few good men. Or perhaps there are just few good men. And even less who can handle the truth.
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