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COMPETITION — SELF-AWARENESS
I Crossed the Blurry Line Between Kindness and Lying
Meaning well isn’t always enough
It was my birthday. My friend showed up with a sugar-free (and joy-free) cake. Looked like cake, smelled like cake with icing on top. One bite in, and it tasted like regret and recycled cardboard. Not that I have eaten either, but you know what I mean. Imagery. But I smiled, and gestured, saying it was the best cake ever.
I lied. Was it called for? Nope. But I did not want to hurt my friend’s feelings because she, thoughtfully keeping in mind I had diabetes, had made the effort to bring me a cake I could enjoy. It seemed kinder to cloak the truth with a lie.
Am I a liar? Not really. I hate to lie and cringe if I have to. I prefer to confess the truth just so I don’t have to be weighed down by the guilt. But white lies? Over the years, they have become a habit. Is that okay? It’s a gray area with me.
The problem with lying is that it just creeps up disguised in a smile. It slips into conversations. No thought goes into saying things like “I am fine” when we’re anything but. Whether we like it or not, lying is human. Even the most honest people tend to twist the truth sometimes. So, it isn’t about whether we lie, but how, why, to whom, and how often.
