LIARS BY NATURE...

     For many of us, we have spent our lives embellishing or basically “lying” to others to promote better versions of ourselves.  We seem to do this to please and impress our friends and peers in the world around us.   Some of you may believe you are true by nature and present a true self to others.  However, I promise you that most of you are not.  Believe me, I know the truth hurts.  If you have a Social Media Account, guess what?  You have been lying about who you truly are publicly ever since you created that profile.  Most people would say I am full of shit, but if every picture is of you doing something interesting or exciting, guess what?  You are presenting a false front, or (in other words) you’re lying because you probably work a normal boring job.  Truth is you’re just a normal person having to do monotonous chores, common errors in judgement, and lead a generally uneventful life just like the rest of us.  I know that your intent is probably not to deceive, but the reality is that is exactly what you are doing. 
     Now just to be blunt. You, I, and everyone are definitively “liars”.  So, if this is the case, why do we continue creating these alternative perceptions of our lives if they basically are all lies?  Well, quite simply, from my perspective, it is because we constantly want the world to see the best in us.  Yes, most would say it is bad to lie or embellish regardless.  But I see hope in it. 
      When people lie to promote a better self, they do it because they believe they can be, or want to be, that flawless person they show online.  Although those online portrayals might be lies, at least, most of the time, people want to be seen as good people.  We are humans, and I believe we are liars by nature.  Maybe we are all doomed because of it, but the truth is that we are still here alive and well.  So, if we are still here on this planet lying, is there still good within all of us? I believe so.  Maybe those false versions of ourselves are just the personal benchmarks we all inevitably want to truly be in reality.  No one should ever be punished thinking positively of themselves.  Should they?  Even if the truth is not the complete truth, people have the right to promote themselves as the best person they can be. 
      I think the core of this problem is our obsession with image and how image can impact and control a person’s actions.  All of us are so fixated on how others view us.  Honestly, making it nearly impossible for people to get to know who we really are.  Hey, I am no angel but I promise you I won’t be showing any negative images on my online public profiles anytime soon.  I mean can you blame me?  I want people to see me for the good side of who I am (and nothing else).  Because eventually people will remember me for that good side of who I am.  That same side of me that I have promoted and protected for all these years.  The same side of us we all dedicate time to promote and protect.  Yeah, that side of me might not be the complete truth of who I am (or who you are), but at least we want to be good people.   If we continue to want to be good people, this world will keep evolving toward the direction of good. 

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THIS MONTH'S BOOK RECOMMENTATION...
I love this book.  Check it out.  I know you'll love it too.  Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited—"not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault." Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek. There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter...