The art of lying
I was speaking to a friend of mine the other day about how natural lying comes to children and how as parents you have to brainwash children into not lying.
So if lying is such a natural human response why does it feel so unnatural – does brainwashing really work that well?
The reason I want to know is that I have few regrets in my life but I’d have to say lying to Steve is right up there as having left a black mark on my soul. Mostly because for 16 years he was wont to say to anyone who cared to listen that “Rachel cannot tell a lie” and he believed that, and I believed that, even while I was telling the biggest lie of my life.
The truth about lying is that it adds a complication to life that is unnecessary and self-defeating. I kind of believe in karma, that all lies come out in the end, and look much worse in the light of day than they did in the dark of night when they were being told. Being direct and forthright doesn’t necessarily always make you well liked by others, but it sure makes it easier to like yourself at the end of the day.