Honesty Can Set You Free

Sunday is a good day to take it easy and that is exactly what I have been up to until I rode my bike to the gym and worked out and then rode back.  It is very hot here, mid 90’s and the wind was blowing very hard.  The bike trip home almost stopped my wife and I in out tracks.  We were inspired in our bike ride from watching the Tour De France which is such an amazing event and today was a mountain stage battle in which all the leaders competed for the overall lead and the right to where the yellow jersey.  It is a great tradition and it is too bad that some still try to cheat through the use of performance enhancing drugs.  Well the best athletes, who are not cheating, will compete in this classic until the three weeks, the mountains, and the time trials determine who is the best on the bike.

Cheating is an interesting topic.  Why do people cheat?  How come some people are less than honest?  Why do some take an unfair advantage over others?  If you won and you cheated, how could you feel good about what you did?  I suspect you can’t unless you lack insight or the values of honesty and truthfulness.  Yes there are people like that and it is sad to see.  Unfortunately we see dishonesty in politics and that is what gives it such a bad name.  Most of us value honesty and doing this fairly because those are values we learned growing up.

I want to say a few words about honesty.  The honesty I want to talk about is being truthful with ourselves.  If we can’t be honest with ourselves it is highly unlikely we can be ok with who we are and be honest with others.  Part of being a more conscious human being includes self-honesty, which is essential to our growth and awareness.  If you can be truthful with yourself about who you are, what your weaknesses are, and what you do well, then you have the capacity to set yourself free.  Our own truthfulness will allow us to be good friends with ourselves.  When we can talk straight with ourselves, we can liberate our lives from the dishonest self-assessments that hold us back.  Honesty works the best to make us feel free to be fully who we want to be.