OVERCOMING LIES AND LYING ATTITUDES.
LIES and liars have lived amongst us since creation. This vice and its perpetrators have always been chased and checked in vain. Their lures keep gaining our societies.
A lie can best be described as the crude opposite of truth. But the institutionalised refinements that lies have undergone since Stone Age, have given them the edge on truths. Lies are becoming so relevant, so common, so tolerable, and so inevitable in our day to day dealings.
Seemingly, we all tell lies or have told lies. From commoners to dignitaries, this instrument is being used or attempted; for different reasons. Politicians lie to claim and clench power; parents lie to save their faces before kids; kids lie to avoid being whacked; lovers lie to each other to protect a cherished liaison or to abort a souring one.
Yet, everybody abhors to be told lies. What we give we hate to be given - a clear indication that lie is a bad thing. The lack of qualms about lying has turned the act into a natural foible, whereas it is a canker in our societies, and a kamikaze to us.
As much as lies help us to dodge, hide and leap; they also lead to immeasurable calamities. Lies have ruined nations' economies; lies have provoked bloody wars; lies have broken harmonious marriages; lies have even dispersed church congregations. Lie is a force, an obsession, a spirit and even a breath.
Since we all hate to be told lies, we ought not to tell also, and our societies shouldn't be in need of lies. But how can we eradicate this flu - from our souls and our societies?
Here are nine sage strategies that could help:
1) Be an upright citizen: Most liars do because they are wary of revealing their real ways of life. But if you are upright, you wouldn't be tempted to be in need of lies.
2) Don't be desperate: Contrary to a misconception, desperation is not equal to ambition. Ambition uses hope and faith with due respect for sane values, whereas desperation cares less. If you are desperate you wouldn't be able to frown at lie when it smiles at you for a free service.
3) Avoid garrulity: As the book of Proverbs puts it <Too many words can't be without lies>. Don't be very talkative, if you must be a truthful person. Guide your flow of words and filter irrelevant and baseless facts.
4) Never strive to please people with words: If you have a habit of sharing captivating stories with the motive of exhibiting your eloquence, you will have many listeners certainly, but you might be forced to invent stories and events to maintain your cherished status.
5) Avoid exaggeration: Exaggeration opens doors for mendacity .Exaggeration dilutes precision and causes you to slip out of the original lane of your report, into flab and falsehood.
6) Stand the consequences of saying the truth: People tell lies because they fear the consequences of telling the truth. A truth-teller is one who is mindless of the aftermaths of truth declaration. Like said earlier, be an upright citizen. And if you are really, your words would be as transparent as your lifestyle. You wouldn't have any cause to cover or colour your deeds. If it is good, it will be easily and proudly said without fear.
7) Know that truth is decency: Supposedly, we all strive to be decent citizens through one act or the other. But true decency is just a merit. It is dependent on the relationship between our words and actions. If there is lack of consistency and corroboration across our words to our actions, we become dubious. We loose trust and respect. If you love decency, love saying the truth and you will be recognised by it.
8) Guilty conscience and Peace of mind: Both states of mind are products of lies and truths. However enormous be the gains obtained by lies, the mind is naturally locked in guilt. Although saying the truth might bring punishment or meagre results, the mind goes home with its peace in toto.
9) Resolve to accept whatever God offers: Irrespective of our differing religious dispositions, we all somehow believe in, or perceive the powers of divinity. When you do your best and leave the rest, you are opting out of the lane of "by-any-means-necessary". This lane leads to incalculable endings. In your pursuits, say the truth always and accept the results no matter how insignificant they may seem - you will be in agreement with your God.
There is need for a change. Adults should repent, children should be educated, and the society should be overhauled. The element of truth can bring about this change. A flood of truth can erode the solid foundations that lies have erected in our societies.
