My Wish for World Leaders and the Powerful is to Stop Lying
This came to me about four times in the last week and it was associated with a public statement made by a major power. I laughed as the image popped into my mind. I woke up with it coming to me and just now it came again, so I decided to post it. Lawyers are a good example as I’ve witnessed them lie and that is when I lost respect for them. for no battle is winning from the basis of lying. Ethically they lose and that is the greatest betrayal of self denying responsibility for truth in the context of having to win (make money). This is how we sell our souls. Fear drives that.
I am the little boy making a wish that those in power CANNOT LIE.
Imagine if we all spoke the truth. I remember when I was teaching REAL HOPE – the Honesty Session. I said to kids can you go through life without lying? Of course all of us tell white lies, impulsive lies, we embellish our answers, the media lies all the time, the politicians do it and business leaders seeking to be seen to be. It is unusual to find people who actually say the truth with innocence. Most of us learn that there are consequences.
The answer to the children was yes – I gave the example of someone asking you if you like their jumper when you don’t. I said to them you can say your truth truthfully without offence, just say it would not look good on me but what really matters is what you feel, what you think. For this is returning the decision about what to wear to the person, as it really is for them that they choose. Everyone else will have lots of different views, as we are different. If they say would you wear it – say no it wouldn’t suit me. So you can, you just have to be mindful of how you say things. It is to be brave about the consequences, as lying can be tempting as we care about how we are seen. If we no longer care and we trust life unfolds as it should, then the truth can lead us somewhere. Moreover, you respect yourself when you live in the truth. If you don’t then you let others off the hook as you have lied. So social standards are determined by our values not what we think.
I love this one.