The Naked Truth

Loosely defined, this can be interpreted as “that which we don’t ACTUALLY want to hear.”

There is nothing more distasteful to me than people who spend their energy and the precious time of others with the phrase, “I don’t care what people think.” It’s bullshit. Everybody knows it’s bullshit. The question is why do so many people keep saying it?

Sometimes I think it’s because they can’t hear the hollow ring of dishonesty. This must take amazing commitment to practice, as well as a sincere dedication to denial. Other times I think people say it solely to drown out the voice in their own head asking the question, “seriously? What the hell are you thinking?”

Like it or not, we ARE our brother’s keeper. Naturally, in order not to hand over our personal power, we’ve given it a label: Friendship. By now you may be painfully well aware of the value I put on friendship and how high the bar is set. I like to maintain this as – for my part – friendship is built on trust, thoughtfulness, and oh yeah – the elusive honesty. Yes, I’m plenty honest when you ask. I find it interesting though that when tales are retold, the request for honesty is so often left out of the retelling in order to assure the Friend who asked doesn’t have to admit to already having heard The Naked Truth (refer to definition above) in their own head.

Being our brother’s keeper is the basis of our humanity. Outside of ridiculous friendships, it’s the thing that ensures our civility; the thing that keeps us at the top of the food chain; the thing that maintains our sense of order and decorum. So to all those who cannot hear The Naked Truth above your den of denial, I give you this: Stop asking questions you may not want to hear the answer to. Problem solved. Yes, your ass looks huge in those jeans. Yes, I do know factually that your “boyfriend” is cheating on you. Yes, I forgive you but no, you’re not really my Friend.